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MONTGOMERY AND 

BOND COUNTIES, 

— ILLljHOIS,— 



CONTAINING 



Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, 

"OGETHER WITH BIOGRAPHIES AND PORTRAITS OF ALL THE 

m Presidents of the United states. @ 



CHICAGO: 

cn-A^Fz^^nA^Kr BROS. 

1892. 




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I IE greatest of English liistoruuis, Macaulay, and one of the most brilliant writers of 
the present centiuy, has said: "The history of a country is best told in a record of the 
lives of its people." In conformity with this idea the Por.xKArr and Biookapiiical 
Record of this county has been prepared. Instead of going to musty records, and 
taking therefrom dry statistical matter that can be aitpreciated by Init few, our 
corps of writers have gone to tlie people, the men and women who have, by then- 
enterprise and industry, brought the county to I'ank second to none among those 
)rising this great and noble State, and from their lips have the story of their life 
ggles. No more interesting or instructive matter could be presented to an intelli- 
public. In this volume will be found a record of many whose lives are worthy the 
itiou of coming generations. It tells how some, commencing life in poverty, b\' 
stry and economy have accumulated wealth. It tells how others, with limited 
antages for securing an education, have become learned men and women, with an 
uenee extending throughout the length and breadth of the land. It tells of men who 
have risen from the lower walks of life to eminence as statesmen, and whose names have 
become famous. It tells of those in every walk in life who have striven to succeed, and 
records how that success has usually crowned their efforts. It tells also of many, very 
many, who, not seeking the applause of the world, have pursued "the even tenor of their w.ay," content 
to have it said of them as Christ said of the woman performing a deed of mercy — "they have done what 
they could." It tells how that many in the pride and strength of young manhood left the plow and the 
anvil, the lawyer's office and the counting-room, left every trade and profession, and at their country's 
call went forth valiantly "to do or die," and how through their efforts the Union was restored and peace 
once more reigned in the land. In the life of every man and of every woman is a lesson that should not 
be lost upon those who follow after. 

Coming generations will appreciate this volume and preserve it as a s.icred treasure, from the f.act 
that it contains so much that would never find its way into public records, and which would otherwise be 
inaccessible. Great care has been taken in the compilation of the work and every opportunity possible 
given to those represented to insure correctness in what has been written, and the publishers flatter them- 
selves that they give to their readers a work with few errors of consequence. In a<ldition to the biograph 
ical sketches, portraits of a number of representative citizens are given. 

The faces of some, and biographical sketches of many, will be missed in this volume. For this the 
publishers are not to blame. Not iiaving a proper concc|ition of the work, some refused to give the 
information necessary to compile a sketch, while others were indifferent. Occasionally some member of 
the family would oppose the enterprise, and on account of such opposition the support of the interested 
one would be withheld. In a few instances men could never be found, though repeated calls were made 
at their residence or place of business. 

December, 1892. CHAPMAN BROS. 








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FIRST PRESIDENT. 




U "^i'^,^iSS>i^i.'fi?i'\.u"..u'.,h'\>,".,',:.' i '..'i^mi^iimi^u-t': i' : x'. ; j'..";t^v;^t^<^t§s!ji§g, 



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I HE Father of our Country was 
'^) horn in Westmorland Co., Va., 
I,) Feb. 2 2, 1732. His parents 
were Augustine and Mary 
^ (Ball) Washington. The family 
to which he belonged has not 
'f been satisfactorily traced in 
England. His great-grand- 
father, John Washington, em- 
igrated to Virginia about 1657, 
and became a prosperous 
* planter. He had two sons, 
Lawrence and John. The 
former married Mildred Warner 
and had three children, John, 
Augustine and Mildred. Augus- 
tine, the father of George, first 
married Jane Butler, who bore 
him four children, two of whom, 
Lawrence and Augustine, reached 
maturity. Of six children by his 
second marriage, George was the 
eldest, the others being Betty, 
Samuel, John Augustine, Charles 
and Mildred. 
Augustine Washington, the father of George, died 
in 1743, leaving a large landed property. To his 
eldest son, Lawrence, he bequeathed an estate on 
the Patomac, afterwards known as Mount Vernon, 
and to George he left the parental residence. George 
received only such education as the neighborhood 
schools afforded, save for a short time after he left 
school, when he received private instruction in 
mathematics. His spelling, v/as rather defectivs, 








Remarkable stories are told of his great physica; 
strength and development at an early age. He was 
an acknowledged leader among his companions, and 
was early noted for that nobleness of character, fair- 
ness and veracity which characterized his whole life. 

When George was 1 4 years old hehad a desire to go to 
sea, and a midshipman's warrant was secured for him, 
but through the opposition of his mother the idea was 
abandoned. Two years later lie was appointed 
surveyor to the immense estate of Lord Fairfax. In 
this business he spent three years in a rough frontier 
life, gaining experience which afterwards proved very 
essential to him. In 175 i, though only 19 years of 
age, he was appointed adjutant with the rank of 
major in the Virginia militia, then being trained for 
active service against the French and Indians. Soon 
after this he sailed to the West Indies witli his brother 
Lawrence, who went there to restore his health. They 
soon returned, and in the summer of 1752 Lawrence 
died, leaving a large fortune to an infant daughter 
who did not long survive him. On her demise the 
estate of Mount Vernon was given to George. 

Upon the arrival of Robert Dinwiddle, as Lieuten- 
ant-Governor of Virginia, in 1752, the militia was 
reorganized, and the province divided into four mili- 
tary districts, of which the northern was assigned to 
Washington as adjutant general. Shortly after this 
a very perilous mission was assigned him and ac- 
cepted, which others had refused. This was to pro- 
ceed to the French post near Lake Erie in North- 
western Pennsylvania. The distance to be traversed 
was between 500 and 600 miles. Winter was at hand, 
and the journey was to be made -.vithout military 
escort, through a territory occupied by Indians. The 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



uip was a perilous one, and several times he came near 
losing his life, yet he returned in safety and furnished 
a full and useful report of his expedition. A regiment 
of 300 men was raised in Virginia and put in com- 
mand of Col. Joshua Fry, and Major Washington was 
commissioned lieutenant-colonel. Active war was 
then begun against the French and Indians, in which 
Washington took a most important part. In the 
memorable event of July 9, 1755, known as Brad- 
dock's defeat, Washington was almost the only officer 
of distinction who escaped from the calamities of the 
day with life and honor. The other aids of Braddock 
were disabled early in the action, and Washington 
alone was left in that capacity on the field. In a letter 
to his brother he says : " I had four bullets through 
my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet I escaped 
unhurt, though death was leveling my companions 
on every side." An Indian sharpshooter said he was 
not born to be killed by a ballet, for he had taken 
direct aim at him seventeen times, and failed to hit 
him. 

After having been five years in the military service, 
and vainly sought promotion in the royal army, he 
took advantage of the fall of Fort Duquesne and the 
expulsion of the French from the valley of the Ohio, 
to resign his commission. Soon after he entered the 
Legislature, where, although not a leader, he look an 
active and important part. January 17, 1759, he 
married Mrs. Martha (Dandridge) Custis, the wealthy 
widow of John Parke Custis. 

When the British Parliament had closed the port 
-)f Boston, the cry went up throughout the provinces 
that "The cause of Boston is the cause of us all." 
It was then, at the suggestion of Virginia, that a Con- 
gress of all the colonies was called to meet at Phila- 
delphia,Sept. 5, 1774,10 secure their common liberties, 
I'.eaceably if possible. To this Congress Col. Wash- 
ington was sent as a delegate. On May 10, 1775, the 
Congress re-assembled, when the hostile intentions of 
England were plainly apparent. The battles of Con- 
cord and Lexington had been fought. Among the 
first acts of this Congress was the election of a com- 
mander-in-chief of the colonial forces. This high and 
responsible office was conferred upon Washington, 
who was still a memberof the Congress. He accepted 
it on June 19, but upon the express condition that he 
receive no salary. He would keep an exact account 
of expenses and expect Congress to pay them and 
nothing more. It is not the object of this sketch to 
trace the military acts of Washington, to whom the 
fottunes and liberties of the people of this country 
were so long confided. The war was conducted by 
him under ever}' possible disadvantage, and while his 
forces often met with reverses, yet he overcame every 
obstacle, and after seven years of heroic devotion 
and matchless skill he gained liberty for the greatest 
nation of earth. On Dec. 23, 1783, Washington, in 
a parting address of surpassing beauty, resigned his 



commission as commander-in-chief of the army to 
to the Continental Congress sitting at Annapolis. He 
retired immediately to Mount Vernon and resumed 
his occupation as a fanner and planter, shunning all 
connection with public life. 

In February, 1 7 89, Washington was unaniniouslj 
elected President. In his presidential career he war^ 
subject to the peculiar trials incidental to a vievv 
government ; trials from lack of confidence on the part 
of other governments; trials from want of harmony 
between the different sections of our own country; 
trials from the impoverished condition of the country, 
owmg to the war and want of credit; trials from the 
beginnings of party strife. He was no partisan. His 
clear judg.nent could discern the golden mean; and 
while perhaps this alone kept our government from 
sinking at the very outset, it left him exposed to 
attacks from both sides, which were often bitter and 
very annoying. 

At the expiration of his first term he was unani- 
mously re-elected. At the end of this term many 
were anxious that he be re-elected, but he absolutel) 
refused a third nomination. On the fourth of March, 
1797, at the expiraton of his second term as Presi- 
dent, he returned to his home, hoping to pass there 
his few remaining years free from the annoyances of 
public life. Later in the year, however, his repose 
seemed likely to be interrupted Ity war with France 
At the prospect of such a war he was again urged to 
take coinmand of the armies. He chose his sul - 
ordinate officers and left to them the charge of mat- 
ters in the field, which he superintended from his 
home. In accepting the command he made the 
reservation that he was not to be in the field until 
it was necessary. In the midst of these preparations 
his life was suddenly cut off. December 12, he took 
a severe cold from a ride in the rain, which, settling 
in his throat, produced inflammation, and terminated 
fatally on the night of the fourteenth. On the eit^h- 
teenth his body was borne with military honors to its 
final resting place, and interred in the family vault at 
Mount Vernon. 

Of the character of Washington it is impossible to 
speak but in terms of the highest respect and ad- 
miration. The more we see of the operations of 
our government, and the more deeply we feel the 
difficulty of uniting all opinions in a common interes*, 
the more highly we must estimate the force of his tal- 
ent and character, which have be'^n able to challenge 
the reverence of all parties, and principles, and na- 
tions, and to win a fame as extended as the limits 
of the globe, and which we cannot but believe will 
be as lasting as the existence of man. 

The person of Washington was unusally tan, erect 
and well proportioned. His muscular strength was 
great. His features were of a beautiful synjmetrs'. 
He commanded respect without any ai.]ienranre of 
haughtiness, and ever serious without iii?inij: dull. 






'/mid 



SECOND PRESIDENT. 







c.,a&aS£tS 








Tr^l^ OHN ADAMS, the second 
Lfi^ President and tlie first Vice- 
ij)j President of the United States, 
was born in Braintree ( now 
J'* Quincy ),Mass., and about ten 
miles from Boston, Oct. 19, 
^ 1735. His great-grandfather, Henry 
Adams, emigrated from England 
about 1 640, with a family of eight 
% sons, and settled at Braintree. The 
parents of John were John and 
Susannah (Boylston) Adams. His 
father was a farmer of limited 
means, to which he added the bus- 
iness of shoemaking. He gave his 
eldest son, John, a classical educa- 
tion at Harvard College. John 
graduated in 1755, and at once took charge of the 
school in Worcester, Mass. This he found but a 
'sciiool of affliction," from which he endeavored to 
gain relief by devoting himself, in addition, to the 
study of law. For this purpose he placed himself 
under the tuition of the only lawyer in the town. He 
had thought seriously of the clerical profession 
but seems to have been turned from this by what he 
termed " the frightful engines of ecclesiastical coun- 
jils, of diabolical malice, and Calvanistic good nature,'' 
of the operations of which he had been a witness in 
his native town. He was well fitted for the legal 
profession, possessing a clear, sonorous voice, being 
ready and flueiit of speech, and having quick percep- 
tive powers. He gradually gained practice, and in 
1764 married Abigail Smith, a daughter of a minister, 
and a lady of superior intelligence. Shortly after his 
marriage, (1765), the attempt of Parliamentary taxa- 
tion turned him from law to politics. He took initial 
steps toward holdin^ a town meeting, and the resolu- 



tions lie offered on the subject became very populai 
throughout the Provmce, and were adopted word for 
word by over forty different towns. He moved to Bos- 
ton in 1768, and became one of the most courageous 
and prominent advocatesof the popular cause, and 
.vas chosen a member of the General Court (the Leg- 
lislature) in 1770. 

Mr. Adams was chosen one of the first delegates 
from Massachusetts to the first Continental Congress, 
which met in 1774. Here he distinguished himselt 
l)y his capacity for business and for debate, and ad- 
vocated the movement for independence against tii? 
majority of the members. In May, 1776, he moved 
and carried a resolution in Congress that the Colonies 
should assume the duties of self-government. He 
was a prominent member of the committee of live 
appointed June 11, to prepare a declaration of inde- 
pendence. This article was drawn by Jefferson, but 
on Adams devolved the task of battling it through 
Congress in a three days debate. 

On the day after the Declaration of Independence 
was passed, while his soul was yet warm with th? 
glow of e.Kcited feeling, he wrote a letter to his wife 
whicli, as we read it now, seems to have been dictated 
by the spirit of [jrophecy. "Yesterday," he says, "the 
greatest question was decided that ever was debated 
in America; and greater, perhaps, never was or wil 
be decided among men. A resolution was passed 
without one dissenting colony, ' that these United 
States are, and of right ought to be, free and inde- 
pendent states.' The day is passed. The fourth of 
July, 1776, will be a memorable epoch in the history 
of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated 
by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary 
festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of 
deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty 
God. It ought to be solemnized with jwrnp, shows- 



24 



JOHN ADAMS. 



games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations 
from one end of the continent to the other, from this 
lime forward for ever. Vou will think me transported 
with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of 
tlic toil, and blood and treasure, that it will cost to 
maintain this declaration, and support and defend 
these States; yet, through all the gloom, I can see the 
rays of light and glory. I can see that the end is 
worth more than all the means; and that posterity 
will triumph, although you and I may rue, which I 
hope we shall not." 

In November, 1777, Mr. Adams was appointed a 
ddegate to France^ and to co-operate with Bemjamin 
Franklin and Arthur Lee, who were then in Paris, in 
the endeavor to obtain assistance in arms and money 
from the French Government. This was a severe trial 
to his patriotism, as it separated him from his home, 
compelled him to cross the ocean in winter, and ex- 
posed him to great peril of capture by the British cruis- 
ers, who were seeking him. He left France June 17, 
1779. In September of the same year he was again 
chosen to go to Paris, and there hold himself in readi- 
ness to negotiate a treaty of peace and of commerce 
with Great Britian, as soon as the British Cabinet 
might be found willing to listen to such pioposels. He 
sailed for France in November, from there he went to 
Holland, where he negotiated important loans and 
formed important commercial treaties. 

Finally a treaty of peace with England was signed 
Jan. 21, 1783. The re-action from the excitement, 
toil and anxiety through which Mr. Adams had passed 
threw him into a fever. After suffering from a con- 
tinued fever and becoming feeble and emaciated he 
was advised to go to England to drink the waters of 
Bath. While in England, still drooping anddespond- 
ing, he received dispatches from his own government 
urging the necessity of his going to Amsterdam to 
negotiate another loan. It was winter, his health was 
delicate, yet he immediately set out, and through 
storm, on sea, on horseback and foot,hemade the trip. 

February 24, 1785, Congress appointed Mr. Adams 
envoy to the Court of St. James. Here he met face 
to face the King of England, who had so long re- 
garded him as a traitor. As England did not 
condescend to appoint a minister to the United 
States, and as Mr. Adams felt that he was accom- 
plishing but little, he sought permission to return to 
nis own country, where he arrived in June, 1788. 

When Washington was first chosen President, John 
.\dams, rendered illustiious by his signal services at 
liome and abroad, was chosen Vice President, .'^gain 
at the second election of Washington as President, 
Adams was chosen Vice President. In 1796, Wash- 
ington retired from public life, and Mr. Adams was 
elected President, though not without much opposition. 
Serving in this office four years,he was succeeded by 
Mr. Jefferson, his opponent in politics. 

While Mr. Adams was Vice President the great 



French Revolution shook the continent of Europe, 
and it was upon this point which he was at issue with 
the majority of his countrj'men led by Mr. Jefferson. 
Mr. Adams felt no sympathy with the French people 
in their struggle, for he had no confidence in theiv 
power of self-government, and he utterly abhored the 
classof atheist philosophers who he claimed caused it. 
On the other hand Jefferson's sympathies were strongly 
enlisted in behalf of the French people. Hence or 
iginated the alienation between these distinguished 
men, and two powerful parties were thus soon organ- 
ized, Adams at the head of the one whose sympathies 
were with England and Jefferson led the other in 
sympathy with France. 

The world has seldom seen a spectacle of more 
moral beauty and grandeur, than was presented by the 
old age of Mr. Adams. The violence of party feeling 
had died away, and he had begun to receive that just 
appreciation which, to most men, is not accorded till 
after death. No one could look upon his venerable 
form, and think of what he had done and suffered, 
and how he had given up all the prime and strength 
of his life to the public good, without the deepest 
emotion of gratitude and respect. It was his peculiar 
good fortune to witness the complete success of the 
institution which he had been so active in creating and 
supporting. In 1824, his cup of happiness was filled 
to the brim, by seeing his son elevated to the highest 
station in the gift of the people. 

The fourth of July, 1826, which completed the half 
century since the signing of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, arrived, and there were but three of the 
signers of that immortal instrument left upon the 
earth to hail its morning light. And, as it is 
well known, on that day two of these finished then 
earthly pilgrimage, a coincidence so remarkable as 
to seem miraculous. For a few days before Mr. 
Adams had lieen rapidly failing, and on the morning 
of the fourth he found himself too weak to rise from 
his bed. On being requested to name a toast for the 
customary celebration of the day, he exclaimed " In- 
dependence FOREVER," When the day was ushered 
in, by the ringing of bells and the firing of cannons, 
he was asked by one of his attendants if he knew 
what day it was? He replied, "O yes; it is the glor- 
ious fourth of July — God bless it — God bless you all." 
In the course of the day he said, "It is a great and 
glorious day." The last words he uttered were. 
"Jefferson survives." But he had, at one o'clock, re- 
signed his spirit into the hands of his God. 

The personal appearance and manners of Mr. 
Adams were not particularly prepossessing. His face, 
as his portrait manifests,was intellectual and expres- 
sive, but his figure was low and ungraceful, and h''. 
manners were frequently abrupt and uncourteous. 
He had neither the lofty dignity of Washington, nor 
the engaging elegance and gracefulness which marked 
the manners and address of Tefferson. 



^^i^ 





^^^2^72. 



THIRD PRESIDENT. 



27 




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HOMAS JEFFERSON was 
born April 2, 1743, at Shad- 
^l^well, Alberniarle county, Va. 
His [larents were Peter and 
Jane ( Randolph) Jefferson, 
thetbrmera native of Wales, 
and the latter born in Lon- 
don. To them were born six 
daughters and two sons, of 
whom Thomas was the elder. 
When 14 years of age his 
father died. He received a 
most liberal education, hav- 
ing been kept diligently at school 
from the -time he was five years of 
age. In 1760 he entered William 
and Mary College. Williamsburg was then the seat 
of the Colonial Court, and it was the obode of fashion 
a.id splendor. Young Jefferson, who was then 17 
years old, lived somewhat expensively, keeping fine 
horses, and much caressed by gay society, yet he 
was earnestly devoted to his studies, andirreproacha- 
able in his morals. It is strange, however, under 
such influences, that he was not ruined. In the sec- 
ond year of his college course, moved by some un- 
explained inward impulse, he discarded his horses, 
society, and even his favorite violin, to which he had 
previously given much time. He often devoted fifteen 
hours a day to hard study, allowing himself for e.\- 
ercise only a run in the evening twilight of a mile out 
of tlie city and back again. He thus attained very 
high intellectual culture, alike excellence in philoso- 
phy and the languages. The most difficult Latin and 
Greek authors he read with facility. A more finished 
scholar has seldom gone forth from college halls; and 



there was not to be found, perhaps, in all Virginia, a 
more pureminded, upright, gentlemanly young man. 

Immediately upon leaving college he began the 
study of law. For the short time he continued in the 
practice of his profession he rose rapidly and distin- 
guished himself by his energy and accuteness as a 
lawyer. But the times called for greater action. 
The policy of England had awakened the spirit of 
resistance of the American Colonies, and the enlarged 
views which Jefferson had ever entertained, soon led 
him into active political life. In 1769 he was choser 
a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. In 
1772 he married Mrs. Martha Skelton, a very beauti- 
ful, wealthy and highly accomiilished young widow 

Upon Mr. Jefferson's large estate at Shad well, there 
was a majestic swell of land, called Monticello, which 
commanded a prospect of wonderful extent and 
beauty. This spot Mr. Jefferson selected for his new 
home; and here he reared a mansion of modest ye*^ 
elegant architecture, which, next to Mount Vernon 
became the most distinguished resort in our land. 

In 1775 lie was sent to the Cclonial Congress, 
where, though a .silent member, his abihties as a 
writer and a reasoner soon become known, and he 
was placed upon a number of important committees, 
and was chairman of the one appointed for the draw- 
ing up of a declaration of independence. This com- 
mittee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, 
Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Roliert R. 
Livingston. Jefferson, as chairman, was appointed 
to draw up the paper. Franklin and Adams suggested 
a iavi verbal changes before it was submitted to Con- 
gress. On June 28, a few slight changes were made 
in it by Congress, and it was passed and signed July 
4, 1776. What must have been the feelings of that 



28 



THOMAS JEFFERSON. 



uian — what the emotions that swelled his breast — 
who was charged with >lie preparation of that Dec- 
laration, which, while it made known the wrongs of 
America, was also to publish her to the world, free, 
sovcrign and independent. It is one of the most re- 
markable papers ever written ; and did no other effort 
uf the mind of its author exist, that alone would be 
sufficient to stamp his name with immortality. 

In 1779 Mr. Jefferson was elected successor to 
Patrick Henry, j^s Governor of Virginia. At one time 
the British officer, Tarleton, sent a secret expedition to 
Moniicello, to capture the Governor. Scarcely five 
minutes elapsed after the hurried escape of IVIr. Jef- 
ferson and his family, ere his mansion was in posses- 
sion of the British troops. His wife's health, never 
very good, was much injured by this excitement, and 
in the summer of 1782 she died. 

Mr. Jefferson was elected to Congress in 1783. 
Two years later he was appointed Minister Plenipo- 
tentiary to France. Returning to the United States 
in September, 1789, he became Secretary of State 
\\\ Washington's cabinet. This position he resigned 
Jan. J, 1794. In 1797, he was chosen Vice Presi- 
dent, and four years later was elected President over 
Mr. Adams, with Aaron Burr as Vice President. In 
1804 he was re-elected with wonderful unanimity, 
and George Clinton, Vice President. 

The early part of Mr. Jefferson's second adminstra- 
'ion was disturbed by an event which threatened the 
tranquility and peace of the Union; this was the con- 
spiracy of Aaron Burr. Defeated in the late election 
10 the Vice Presidency, and led on by an unprincipled 
ambition, this extraordinary man formed the plan of a 
military expedition intc the Spanish territories on our 
outhwestern frontier, for the purpose of forming there 
■\ new republic. This has been generally supposed 
was a mere pretext ; and although it has not been 
generally known what his real plans were, there is no 
doubt that they were of a far more dangerous 
character. 

In 1809, at the expiration of the second term for 
which Mr. Jefferson had be<2n elected, he determined 
to retire from political life. For a period of nearly 
forty years, he had been continually before the pub- 
.ic, and all that time had been employed in offices of 
the greatest trust and responsibility. Having thus de- 
voted the best part of his life to the service of his 
country, he now felt desirous of that rest which his 
declining years required, and upon the organization of 
the new administration, in March, 1809, he bid fare- 
well forever to public life, and retired to Monticello. 

Mr. Jefferson was profuse in his hospitality. Whole 
families came in their coaches with their horses, — 
fathers and mothers, boys and girls, babies and 
nurses,— and remained three and even six months. 
Life at Monticello, for years, resembled that at a 
fashionable watering-place. 

The fourth of July, 1826, being the fiftieth anniver- 



sary of the Declaration of American Independence, 
great preparations were made in every part of the 
Union for its celebration, as the nation's jubilee, and 
the citizens of Washington, to add to the solemnity 
of the occasion, invited Mr. Jefferson, as the framer,. 
and one of the few surviving signers of the Declara- 
tion, to participate in their festivities. But an ill- 
ness, which had been of several weeks duration, and 
had been continually increasing, compelled him to 
decHne the invitation. 

On the second of July, the disease under which 
he was laboring left him, but in such a reduced 
state that his medical attendants, entertained nc 
hope of his recovery. From this time he was perfectly 
sensible that his last hour was at hand. On the nex'. 
day, which was Monday, he asked of those around 
him, the day of the month, and on being told it was 
the third of July, he expressed the earnest wish tha': 
he might be permitted to breathe the airof the fiftieth 
anniversary. His prayer was heard — that day, whose 
dawn was hailed with such rapture through our land, 
burst upon his eyes, and then they were closed for- 
ever. And what a noble consummation of a noble 
life ! To die on that day, — the birthday of a nation,- - 
the day v/hich his own name and his own act had 
rendered glorious; to die amidst the rejoicings and 
festivities of a whole nation, who looked up to him, 
as the author, under God, of their greatest blessings, 
was all that was wanting to fill up the record his life. 

Almost at the same hour of his death, the kin- 
dred spirit of the venerable Adams, as if to bear 
him company, left the scene of his earthly honors. 
Hand in hand they had stood forth, the champions of 
freedom ; hand in hand, during the dark and desper- 
ate struggle of the Revolution, they had cheered and 
animated their desponding countrymen; for half a 
century they had labored together for the good of 
the country; and now hand in hand they depart. 
In their lives they had been united in the same great 
cause of liberty, and in their deaths they were not 
divided. 

In person Mr. Jefferson was tall and thin, rather 
above six feet in height, but well formed; his eyes 
were light, his hair originally red, in after life became 
white and silvery; his complexion was fair, his fore- 
head broad, and his whole courtenance intelligent and 
thoughtful. He possessed great fortitude of mind as 
well as personal courage; and }.;s command of tem- 
per was such that his oldest and most intimate friends 
never recollected to have seen him in a passion. 
His manners, though dignified, were simple and un- 
affected, and his hospitality was so unbounded that 
all found at his house a ready welcome. In conver- 
sation he was fluent, eloquent and enthusiastic ; and 
his language was remarkably pure and correct. He 
was a finished classical scholar, and in his writings is 
discernable the care with which he formed his style 
upon the best models of antiquity. 




J^ (ZA^-^^- -^-^ dA-M-^^ iP'k 



FOURTH PRESIDENT. 



'S.'>( 




Sag^EQES npDISOI].' 




Jstl- ■/> '^ 



'v^^ AMES MAniSON, "Father 
p of the Constitution," and fourth 
'"'"President of the United States, 
was born March i6, 1757, and 
died at his home in Virginia, 
June 28, 1836. The name of 
James Madison is inseparably con- 
nected with most of the important 
events in that heroic period of our 
country during which the founda- 
tions of this great repubhc were 
laid. He was the last of the founders 
of the Constitution of the United 
States to be called to his eternal 
reward. 

The Madison family were among 
the early emigrants to the New World, 
landing \ipon the shores of the Chesa- 
peake Ijut 15 years after the settle- 
ment of Jamestown. The father of 
James Madison was an opulent 
planter, residing upon a very fine es- 
tate called "Montpelier," Orange Co., 
Va. The mansion was situated in 
the midst of scenery highly pictur- 
esque and romantic, on the west side 
of South-west Mountain, at the foot of 
Blue Ridge. It was but 25 miles from the home of 
Jefferson at Monticello. The closest ]iersonal and 
[lolitical attachment existed between these illustrious 
men, from their early youth until death. 

The early education of Mr. Madison wasconductetl 
mostly at home under a private tutor. At the age of 
r8 he was sent to Princeton College, in New Jersey. 
Here he applied himself to study with the most im- 






jirudent zeal; allowing liimself, for months, but three 
hours' sleep out of the 24. His heallli thus became so 
seriously impaired that lie never recovered any vigor 
of constitution. He graduated in 177 i, with a feeble 
body, with a character of utmost jjurity, and with a 
mind highly disciplined and richly stored with learning 
which embellished and gave proficiency to his subsf ■ 
quent career. 

Returning to Virginia, he commenced the study of 
law and a course of extensive and systematic reading. 
This educational course, the spirit of the times in 
which he lived, and the societ)' with which he asso- 
ciated, all combined to inspire liim with a strong 
love of liberty, and to train him for liis life-work o! 
a statesman. Being naturally of a religious turn of 
mind, and his frail health leading him to think that 
his life was not to lie long, he directed especial atten- 
tion to theological studies. Endowed with a mnid 
singularly free from passion and prejudice, and with 
almost unetpialled powers of reasoning, he weighed 
all the arguments for and against revealed religion, 
until his faith became so established as never to 
be shaken. 

In the spring of 1776, when 26 years of age, he 
was elected a member of the Virginia Convention, to 
frame the constitution of the State. The next year 
(1777), he was a candidate for the General Assembly. 
He refused to treat the whisky-lovir.g voters, and 
consequently lost his election ; but those who had 
witnessed the talent, energy and public spirit of the 
modest young man, enlisted themselves in his behalf, 
and he was appointed to the E.xecutive Council. 

Both Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson were 
Governors of Virginia while Mr. Madison remained 
member of the Council ; and their appreciation of his 



32 



JAMES MADISON. 



'ntellectual, social and moral worth, contributed not 
a little to his subsequent eminence. In the year 
1780, he was elected a member of the Continental 
Congress. Here he met the most illustrious men in 
our land, and he was immediately assigned to one of 
the most conspicuous positions among them. 

For three years Mr. Madison continued in Con- 
gress, one of its most active and influential members. 
In the year 1784, his term having expired, he was 
elected a member of the Virginia Legislature. 

No man felt more deeply than Mr. Madison the 
utter inefficiency of the old confederacy, with no na- 
tional government, with no power to form treaties 
which would be binding, or to enforce law. There 
was not any State more prominent than Virginia in 
the declaration, that an efficient national government 
must be formed. In January, 1786, Mr. Madison 
carried a resolution through the General Assembly of 
Virginia, inviting the other States to appoint commis- 
sioners to meet in convention at Annapolis to discuss 
this subject. Five States only were represented. The 
convention, however, issued another call, drawn up 
by Mr. Madison, urging all the States to send their 
delegates to Philadelphia, in May, 1787, to draft 
a Constitution for the United States, to take the place 
of that Confederate League. The delegates met at 
'he time appointed. Every State but Rhode Island 
-vas represented. George Washington was chosen 
president of the convention ; and the present Consti- 
tution of the United States was then and there formed. 
There was, perhaps, no mind and no pen more ac- 
tive in framing this immortal document than the mind 
and the pen of James Madison. 

The Constitution, adopted by a vote 81 to 79, was 
to be presented to the several States for acceptance. 
But grave solicitude was felt. Should it be rejected 
we should be left but a conglomeration of independent 
States, with but little power at home and little respect 
abroad. Mr. Madison was selected by the conven- 
tion to draw up an address to the people of the United 
States, expounding the principles of the Constitution, 
and urging its adoption. There was great opposition 
to it at first, but it at length triumphed over all, and 
went into effect in 1789. 

Mr. Madison was elected to the House of Repre- 
sentatives in the first Congress, and soon became the 
avowed leader of the Republican party. While in 
New York attending Congress, he met Mrs. Todd, a 
young widow of remarkable ix)wer of fascination, 
whom he married. She was in person and character 
queenly, and probably no lady has thus far occupied 
so prominent a position in the ve\y peculiar society 
which has constituted our republican court as Mrs. 
.Madison. 

Mr. Madison served as Secretary of State under 
Jefferson, and at the close of his administration 
was chosen President. At this time the encroach- 
ments of England had brought us to the verge of war. 



British orders in council destioyed our commerce, and 
our flag was e.\posed to constant insult. Mr. Madison 
was a man of peace. Scholarly in his taste, retiring 
in his disposition, war had no charms for him. But the 
meekest spirit can be roused. It makes one's blood 
boil, even now, to think of an American ship brought 
to, upon the ocean, by the guns of an English cruiser. 
A young lieutenant steps on board and orders the 
crew to be paraded before him. With great nonchal- 
ance he selects any number whom he may please to 
designate as British subjects ; orders them down the 
ship's side into his boat; and places them on the gun- 
deck of his man-of-war, to fight, by compulsion, the 
battles of England. This right of search and im- 
pressment, no efforts of our Government could induce 
the British cabinet to relinquish. 

On the i8th of June, 1812, President Madison gave 
his approval to an act of Congress declaring war 
against Great Britain. Notwithstanding the bitter 
hostility of the Federal party to the war, the country 
in general approved; and Mr. Madison, on the 4th 
of March, 18 13, was re-elected by a large majority, 
and entered upon his second term of office. This is 
not the place to describe tlie various adventures of 
this war on the land and on the water. Our infan: 
navy then laid the foundations of its renown in grap- 
pling with the most formidable power which ever 
swept the seas. The contest commenced in earnest 
by the appearance of a British fleet, early in February, 
18 13, in Chesapeake Bay, declaring nearly the whole 
coast of the United States under blockade. 

The Emperor of Russia offered his services as me 
ditator. America accepted ; England refused. A Brit- 
ish force of five thousand men landed on the banks 
of the Patuxet River, near its entrance into Chesa- 
peake Bay, and marched rapidly, by way of Bladens- 
burg, upon Washington. 

The straggling little city of Washington was thrown 
into consternation. The cannon of the brief conflict 
at Bladensburg echoed through the streets of the 
metropolis. The whole population fled from the city. 
The President, leaving Mrs. Madison in the White 
House, with her carriage drawn up at the doer to 
await his speedy return, hurried to meet the officers 
in a council of war. He met our troops utterly routed, 
and he could not go back without danger of being 
captured. But few hours elapsed ere the Presidential 
Mansion, the Capitol, and all the public buildings in 
Washington were in flames. 

The war closed after two years of fighting, and on 
Feb. 13, 1815, the treaty of peace was signed atGhent. 

On the 4th of March, 1817, his second term of 
office expired, and he resigned the Presidential chair 
to his friend, James Monroe. He retired to his beau- 
tiful home at Montpelier, and there passed the re- 
mainder of his days. On June 28, 1836, then at the 
age of 85 years, he fell asleep in death. Mrs. Madi- 
son died July 12, 1849. 



^^•n 




^^^^^^^-L^ 7 /^-^^^/^^ az_^ 



FIFTH PRESIDENT. 



35 





g^EQES n]OI]I^OE. 




^g=^ 




AMES MONROE, the fifth 
,1'residentof Tlie United States, 
was born in Westmoreland Co., 
Va., April 28, 1758. His early 
life was passed at the place of 
nativity. His ancestors had for 
many years resided in the prov- 
ince in which he was born. When, 
at 17 years of age, in the process 
of completing his education at 
William and Mary College, the Co- 
lonial Congress assembled at Phila- 
delphia to deliberate upon the un- 
just and manifold oppressions of 
Great Britian, declared the separa- 
tion of the Colonies, and promul- 
gated the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence. Had he been born ten years before it is highly 
probable that he would have been one of the signers 
of that celebrated instrument. At this time he left 
school and enlisted among the patriots. 

He joined the army when everything looked hope- 
less and gloomy. The number of deserters increased 
from day to day. The invading armies came pouring 
in ; and the tories not only favored the cause of the 
mother country, but disheartened the new recruits, 
who were sufficiently terrified at the prospect of con- 
tending with an enemy whom they had been tauglit 
to deem invincible. To such brave spirits as James 
Monroe, who went right onward, undismayed through 
difficulty and danger, the United States owe their 
political emancipation. The young cadet joined the 
ranks, and espoused the cause of his injured country, 
with a firm determination to live or die with her strife 



for liberty. Firmly yet sadly he shared in the mel- 
ancholy retreat from Harleam Heights and White 
Plains, and accompanied the dispirited army as it fled 
before its foes through New Jersey. In four months 
after the Declaration of Independence, the patriots 
had been beaten in seven battles. At the battle of 
Trenton he led the vanguard, and, in the act of charg- 
ing upon the enemy he received a wound in the left 
shoulder. 

As a reward for his bravery, Mr. Monroe was i)ro- 
nioted a captain of infantry; and, having recovered 
from his wound, he rejoined the army. He, however, 
receded from the line of promotion, by becoming an 
officer in the staff of Lord Sterling. During the cam- 
paigns of 1777 and 177S, in the actions of Brandy 
wine, Germantown and Monmouth, he continued 
aid-de-camp; but becoming desirous to regain his 
position in the army, he exerted himself to collect a 
regiment for the Virginia line. This scheme failed 
owing to the exhausted condition of the State. Upon 
this failure he entered the office of Mr. Jefferson, at 
that period Clovernor, and pursued, with considerable 
ardor, the study of common law. He did not, however, 
entirely lay aside the knapsack for the green bag; 
but on the invasions of the enemy, served as a volun 
teer, during the two years of his legal pursuits. 

In 17S2, he was elected from King George county, 
a member of the Leglislature of Virginia, and by that 
body he was elevated to a seat in the Executive 
Council. He was thus honored with the confidence 
of his fellow citizens at 23 years of age ; and having 
at this eariy period displayed some of that ability 
and aptitude for legislation, which were afterwards 
employed with unremitting energy for the public good, 



36 



JAMES MONROE. 



lie was in the succeeding year chosen a member of 
ihe Congress of the United States. 
Deeply as Mr. Monroe felt the imperfections of the old 
confederacy, he was opposed to the new Constitution, 
-.hinkiug, with many others of the Republican party, 
shat it gave too much power to the Central Government, 
and not enough to the individual States. Still he re- 
tained the esteem of his friends who were its warm 
supporters, and who, notwithstanding his opposition 
secured its adoption. In 17S9, he became a member 
of the United States Senate ; which office he held for 
four years. Every month the line of distinction be- 
tween the two great parties which divided the nation, 
the Federal and the Republican, was growing more 
distinct. The two prominent ideas which now sep- 
arated them were, that the Republican party was in 
sympathy with France, and also in favor of such a 
strict construction of tlie Constitution as to give the 
Central Government as little power, and the State 
Governments as much power, as the Constitution vvould 
warrant. The Federalists sympathized with England, 
and were in favor of a liberal construction of the Con- 
stitution, which would give as much power to the 
Central Government as that document could possibly 
authorize. 

The leading Federalists and Republicans were 
alike noble men, consecrating all their energies to the 
good of the nation. Two more honest men or more 
pure patriots than John Adams the Federalist, and 
James Monroe the Republican, never breathed. In 
building up this majestic nation, which is destined 
to eclipse all Grecian and Assyrian greatness, the com- 
bination of their antagonism was needed to create the 
light equilibrium. And yet each in his day was de- 
nounced as almost a demon. 

Washington was then President. England had es- 
poused the cause of the Bourbons against the princi- 
ples of the French Revolution. All Europe was drawn 
into the conflict. We were feeble and far away. 
Washington issued a proclamation of neutrality be- 
tween these contending powers. France had helped 
us in the struggle for our liberties. All the despotisms 
of Europe were now combined to prevent the French 
from escaping from a tyranny a thousand-fold worse 
than that which we had endured. Col. Monroe, more 
magnanimous than prudent, was anxious that, at 
whatever hazard, we should help our old allies in 
their extremity. It was the impulse of a generous 
and noble nature. He violently opposed the Pres- 
ident's proclamation as ungrateful and wanting in 
magnanimity. 

Washington, who could appreciate such a character, 
developed his calm, serene, almost divine greatness, 
by appointing that very James Monroe, who was de- 
nouncing the policy of the Government, as the minister 
of that Government to the Republic of France. Mr. 
.Monroe was welcomed by the National Convention 
in France witli the most enthusiastic demonsttr^tions. 



Shortly after his return to this country, Mr. Mon- 
roe was elected Governor of Virginia, and held the 
office for three years. He was again sent to France tu 
co-operate with Chancellor Livingston in obtaining 
the vast territory then known as the Province of 
Louisiana, which France had but shortly before ob- 
tained from Spain. Their united efforts were sue 
cessful. For the comparatively small sum of fif"teen 
millions of dollars, the entire territory of Orleans and 
district of Louisiana were added to tlie United States. 
This was probably the largest transfer of real estate 
which was ever made in all the history of the world. 

From France Mr. Monroe went to England to ob- 
tain from that country some recognition of oui 
rights as neutrals, and to remonstrate against those 
odious impressments of our seamen. But Eng- 
land was unrelenting. He again returned to Eng- 
land on the same mission, but could receive no 
redress. He returned to his home and was again 
chosen Governor of Virginia. This he soon resigned 
to accept the position of Secretary of State under 
Madison. While in this office war with England was 
declared, the Secretary of War resigned, and during 
these trj'ing times, the duties of the War Departmen, 
were also put upon him. He was truly the armor- 
bearer of President Madison, and the most efficient 
business man in his cabinet. Upon the return of 
peace he resigned the I)ei)artment of War, but con- 
tinued in the office of Secretary of State until the ex- 
piration of Mr. Madison's adminstration. At the elec- 
tion held the previous autumn Mr. Monroe himself had 
been chosen President with but little opposition, and 
upon March 4, 1817, was inaugurated. Four years 
later he was elected for a second term. 

Among the important measures of his Presidency 
were the cession of Florida to the United States; the 
Missouri Compromise, and the " Monroe doctrine,' 

This famous doctrine, since known as the " Monroe 
doctrine," was enunciated by him in 1823. At tha' 
time the United States had recognized the independ- 
ence of the South American states, and did not wish 
to have European powers longer attempting to sub 
due portions of the American Continent. The doctrine 
is -as follows : " That we should consider any attempt 
on the part of European powers to extend their sys- 
tem to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous 
to our peace and safety," and "that we could not 
view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing 
or controlling American governments or provinces in 
any other light than as a manifestation by Eurojiear. 
]50wers of an unfriendly disposition toward the United 
States." This doctrine immediately affected the course 
of foreign governments, and has become the apjirovec 
sentiment of the United States. 

At the end of his fecond term Mr. Monroe retireri 
to his home in Virginia, where he lived until 1830 
when he went to New York to live with his son-in 
law. In that city he died, on the 4th of July, 1S31 







J. 3, Ai 



<'iy>y\j 



S/XTH PRES/DRNT. 



30 







r^ 



♦ 



■/i\- 



JOF^l] Qail]6Y ^D^ITQS. 



m£^' 



OHN QUINCY ADAMS, the 
sixth President of tlie United 
S States, was born in the rural 
liome of his honored fatiier, 
John Adams, in Quincy, Mass., 
on the 1 1 th of July, 1767. His 
mother, a woman of exalted 
worth, watched over his childhood 
during the almost constant ab- 
sence of liis father. When but 
eight years of age, he stood with 
' his mother on an eminence, listen- 
ing to the booming of the great bat- 
tle on Bunker's Hill, and gazing on 
upon the smoke and flames billow- 
ing up from the conflagration of 
Charlestown. 

When but eleven years old he 
took a tearful adieu of his mother, 
to sail with his father for Europe, 
through a lleet ot hostile British cruisers. The bright, 
animated boy spent a year and a half in Paris, where 
his father was associated with Franklin and Lee as 
minister plenipotentiary. His intelligence attracted 
the notice of these distinguished men, and he received 
from them flattering marks of attention. 

Mr. John Adams had scarcely returned to this 
cou.'.try, in 1779, ere he was again sent abroad. Again 
John Quincy accompanied his father. At Paris he 
applied himself with great diligence, for six months, 
to :>tudy; then accom pained his father to Holland, 
where he entered, first a school in Amsterdam, then 
the University at Leyden. About a year from this 
time, in 1781, when the manly boy was but fourteen 
yea's of age, he was selected by Mr. Dana, our min- 
ister to the Russian court, as his private secretary. 

Tn this school of incessant labor and of enobling 
culture he spent fourteen months, and then returned 
to Holland tlirough Sweden, Denmark, Hamljurg and 
Bremen. This long journey he took alone, in tlie 
winter, wlien in his sixteenth year, .\gain he resumed 
ais studies, under a prJ"qte tutor, at Hague. Thence, 




in the spring of 1782, he accompanied his father;; 
Paris, traveling leisurely, and forming acquaintanct 
with the most distinguished men on the Continent 
examining architectural remains, galleries of paintings 
and all renowned works of art. At Paris he again 
became associated with the most illustrious men oi 
all lands in the contemplations of the loftiest temporal 
themes which can engross the human mind. Afte' 
a short visit to England he returned to Paris, and 
consecrated all his energies to study until May, 1785, 
when he returned to America. To a brilliant young 
man of eighteen, who had seen much of the world; 
and who was familiar with the eti(iuette of courts, a 
residence with his father in London, under such cir- 
cumstances, must have been extremely attractive 
but with judgment very rare in one of his age, he pre- 
ferred to return to America to complete his education 
in an American college. He wished then to study 
law, that with an honorable profession, he might be 
able to obtain an inde[iendent support. 

Upon leaving Harvard College, at the age of twenty 
he studied law for three years. In June, 1794, be- 
ing then but tv/enty-seven years of age, he was ap- 
pointed by Washington, resident minister at the 
Netherlands. Sailing from Boston in July, he reached 
London in October, where he was immediately admit- 
ted to the deliberations of Messrs. Jay and Pinckney. 
assisting them in negotiating a commercial treaty with 
Great Brilian. After thus spending a fortnight i. 
London, he jiroceeded to the Hague. 

In July, 1797, he left the Hague to go to Portugal as 
minister iilenipotentiary. On his way to Portugal, 
upon arriving in London, he met with despatches 
directing him to the court of Beiiin, but requesting: 
him to remain in London until he should receive his 
instructions, ^\'hile waiting he was married to ar 
American lady to whom he liad been ])reviously en- 
gaged, — Miss Louisa Catherine Johnson, daughte 
of Mr. Joshua Johnson, American consul in london 
a lady endownd with that beauty and those accom. 
plishment which eminently fitted her to move in ti.c 
elevated sphere for which she w»s ("j^s'iced. 



40 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 



He reached Berlin with his wife in November, 1797 ; 
where he remained until July, 1799, when, having ful- 
filled all the purposes of his mission, he solicited his 
recall. 

Soon after his return, in 1802, he was chosen to 
the Senate of Massachusetts, from Boston, and then 
was elected Senator of the United States for six years, 
from the 4th of March, 1804. His reputation, his 
ability and his experience, placed him immediately 
among the most prominent and influential members 
of that body. Especially did he sustain the Govern- 
ment in its measures of resistance to the encroach- 
ments of England, destroying our commerce and in- 
sulting our flag. There was no man in America more 
familiar with the arrogance of the British court upon 
these points, and no one more resolved to present 
a firm resistance. 

In 1809, Madison succeeded Jefferson in the Pres- 
idential chair, and he iminediately nominated John 
Quincy Adams minister to St. Petersburg. Resign- 
ing his professorship in Harvard College, he embarked 
at Boston, in August, 1809. 

While in Russia, Mr. Adams was an intense stu- 
dent. He devoted his attention to the language and 
history of Russia; to the Chinese trade; to the 
European system of weights, measures, and coins ; to 
the climate and astronomical observations ; while he 
Kept up a familiar acquaintance with the Greek and 
Latin classics. In all the universities of Europe, a 
more accomplished scholar could scarcely be found. 
All through life the Bible constituted an important 
part of his studies. It was his rule to read five 
chapters every day. 

On the 4th of March, 1817, Mr. Monroe took the 
Presidential chair, and immediately appointed Mr. 
Adams Secretary of State. Taking leave of his num- 
erous friends in public and private life in Europe, he 
sailed in June, i8ig, for the United States. On the 
1 8th of August, he again crossed the threshold of his 
home in Quincy. During the eight years of Mr. Mon- 
roe's administration, Mr. Adams continued Secretary 
of State. 

Some time before the close of Mr. Monroe's second 
term of office, new candidates began to be presented 
for the Presidency. The friends of Mr. Adams brought 
forward his name. It was an exciting campaign. 
Party spirit was never more bitter. Two hundred and 
si.\ty electoral votes were cast. Andrew Jackson re- 
ceived ninety-nine; John Quincy Adams, eighty-four; 
William H. Crawford, forty-one; Henry Clay, thirty- 
seven. As there was no choice by the people, the 
question went to the House of Representatives. Mr. 
Clay gave the vote of Kentucky to Mr. Adams, and 
he was elected. 

The friends of all the disappointed candidates now 
;ombined in a venomous and persistent assault upon 
Mr. .'\dams. There is nothing more disgraceful in 
*be, nast history of our country than the abuse which 



was poured in one uninterrupted stream, upon this 
high-minded, upright, patriotic man. There never was 
an administration more pure in principles, more con- 
scientiously devoted to the best interests of the coun- 
try, than that of John Quincy Adams; and never, per- 
haps, was there an administration more unscrupu- 
lously and outrageously assailed. 

Mr. Adams was, to a very remarkable degree, ab- 
stemious and temperate in his habits; always rising 
early, and taking much exercise. When at his home in 
Quincy, he has been known to walk, before breakfast, 
seven miles to Boston. In Washington, it was said 
that he was the first man up in the city, lighting his 
own fire and applying himself to work in his library 
often long before dawn. 

On the 4th of March, 1829, Mr. Adams retired 
from the Presidency, and was succeeded by Andrew- 
Jackson. John C. Calhoun was elected Vice Presi- 
dent. The slavery question now began to assume 
lx)rtentous magnitude. Mr. Adams returned to 
Quincy and to his studies, which he pursued with un- 
abated zeal. But he was not long permitted to re- 
main in retirement. In November, 1830, he was 
elected representative to Congress. For seventeen 
years, until his death, he occupied the post as repre- 
sentative, towering above all his peers, ever ready to 
do brave battle' for freedom, and winning the title of 
"the old man eloquent." Upon taking his seat in 
the House, he announced that he should hold him- 
self bound to no party. Probably there never was a 
member more devoted to his duties. He was usually 
the first in his [>lace in the morning, and the last to 
leave his seat in the evening. Not a measure could 
be brought forward and escape his scrutiny. The 
battle which Mr. Adams fought, almost singly, against 
the proslavery party in the Government, was sublime 
in Its moral daring and heroism. For persisting in 
presenting petitions for the abolition of slavery, he 
was threatened with indictment by the grand jury, 
with expulsion from the House, with assassination . 
but no threats could intimidate him, and his final 
triumph was complete. 

It has been said of President Adams, that when his 
body was bent and his hair silvered by the lapse of 
fourscore years, yielding to the simple faith of a little 
child, he was accustomed to repeat every night, before 
he slept, the prajer which his mother taught him in 
his infant years. 

On the 2 1 St of February, 1848, he rose on the floor 
of Congress, with a paper in his hand, to address the 
speaker. Suddenly he fell, again stricken by paraly- 
sis, and was caught in the arms of those around him. 
For a time he was senseless, as he was conveyed to 
the sofa in the rotunda. With reviving conscious- 
ness, he opened his eyes, looked calmly around and 
said " This is llw end of earth /"then after a moment's 
pause he added, '^ I aw content." These were the 
last words of the grand " Old Man Eloquent." 





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SEVENTH PRESinENT. 



^3 








^«rpiKj|;sir ^^4.<PJS.|f *■ 




WW 




NDRRVV JACKSON, the 
seventh President of the 
Luiited States, was born in 
Waxhaw settlement, N. (;., 
March 15, 1767, a few days 
after his father's death. His 
parents were poor emigrants 
from Ireland, and took up 
their abode in Waxhaw set- 
tlement, where they lived in 
deepest poverty. 
Andrew, or Andy, as he was 
universally called, grew up a very 
rough, rude, turbulent boy. His 
features were coarse, his form un- 
gainly; and there was but very 
little in his character, made visible, which was at- 
tractive. 

When only thirteen years old he joined the volun- 
teers of Carolina against the British invasion. In 
17 Si, he and his brother Robert were captured and 
imprisoned for a time at Camden. A British officer 
ordered him to brush his mud-spattered boots. " I am 
a prisoner of war, not your servant," was the reply of 
the dauntless boy. 

The brute drew his sword, and aimed a desperate 
ulow at the head of the helpless young prisoner. 
Andrew raised his hand, and thus received two fear- 
ful gashes, — one on the hand and the other upon the 
head. The officer then turned to his brother Robert 
with the same demand. He also refused, and re- 
ceived a blow from the keen-edged sabre, which quite 
disabled him, and which probably soon after caused 
his death. They suffered much other ill-treatment, and 
were finally stricken with the small-])ox. Their 
mother was successful ui <)btaining their exchanj/e, 



and took her sick boys home. After a long illnesL 
Andrew recovered, and the death of his mother soon 
left him entirely friendless. 

Andrew supported himself in various ways, sacha3 
working at the saddler's trade, teaching school and 
clerking in a general store, until 17 S4, when he 
entered a law office at Salisbury, N. C. He, however, 
gave more attention to the wild amusements of the 
times than to his studies. In 1788, he was appointed 
solicitor for the western district of North Carolina, ol 
which Tennessee was then a part. This involved 
many long and tedious journeys amid dangers of 
every kind, but Andrew Jackson never knew fear, 
and the Indians had no desire to repeat a skirmisl> 
with the Sharp Knife. 

In 1791, Mr. Jackson was married to a woman who 
supposed herself divorced from her former husband. 
Great was the surprise of both parties, two years later, 
to find that the conditions of the divorce had just been 
definitely settled by the first husband. The marriage 
ceremony was performed a second time, but the occur- 
rence was often used by his enemies to bring Mr. 
Jackson into disfavor. 

During these years he worked hard at his profes 
sion, and frequently had one or more duels on hand, 
one of which, when he killed Dickenson, was espec- 
ially disgraceful. 

In January, 1796, tiie Territory of Tennessee then 
containing nearly eighty thousand inhabitants, the 
people met in convention at Knoxville to frame a con- 
stitution. Five were sent from each of the eleven 
counties. Andrew Jackson was one of the delegates. 
The new State was entitled to but one member i'J 
the National House of Representatives. Andrew Jack- 
son was chosen that member. Mounting his horse he 
rode to Philedelphia, where Congress then held its 



44 



ANDREW JACKSON. 



sessions, — a distance of about eight hundred miles. 

Jackson was an earnest advocate of the Demo- 
cratic party. Jefferson was his idol. He admired 
Bonaparte, loved France and hated England. As Mr. 
Jackson took his seat, Gen. Washington, whose 
second term of office was then expiring, delivered his 
last speech to Congress. A committee drew up a 
complimentary address in reply. Andrew Jackson 
did not approve of the address, and was one of the 
twelve who voted against it. He was not willing to 
say that Gen. Washington's adminstration liad been 
" wise, firm and patriotic." 

Mr. Jackson was elected to the United States 
senate in 1797, but soon resigned and returned home. 
Soon after he was chosen Judge of the Supreme Court 
of his State, which position he held for si.x years. 

When the war of 1812 with threat Britian com- 
menced, Madison occupied the Presidential chair. 
Aaron Burr sent word to the President that there was 
an unknown man in the West, Andrew Jackson, who 
would do credit to a commission if one were con- 
ferred upon him. Just at that time Gen. Jackson 
jffeied his services and those of twenty-five hundred 
volunteers. His offer was accepted, and the troops 
were assembled at Nashville. 

As the British were hourly expected to make an at- 
tack upon New Orleans, where Gen. Wilkinson was 
in command, he was ordered to descend the river 
with fifteen hundred troops to aid Wilkinson. The 
expedition reached Natchez; and after a delay of sev- 
eral weeks tliere, without accomplishing anything, 
:he men were ordered liack to their homes. But the 
energy Gen. Jackson had displayed, and his entire 
devotion to the comrfort of his soldiers, won him 
golden opinions; and he became the most popular 
man in the State. It was in this expedition that his 
toughness gave him the nickname of " Old Hickory." 

Soon after this, while attempting to horsewhip Col. 
Thomas H. Benton, for a remark that gentleman 
made about his taking a part as second in a duel, in 
which a younger brotiier of Benton's was engaged, 
he received two severe pistol wounds. While he was 
lingering upon a bed of suffering news came that the 
Indians, who had combined under Tecumseh from 
Florida to the Lakes, to exterminate the white set- 
tlers, were committing the most awful ravages. De- 
cisive action became necessary. Gen. Jackson, with 
his fractured bone just beginning to heal, his arm in 
a sling, and unable to mount his horse without assis- 
tance, gave his amazing energies to the raising of an 
army to rendezvous at FayettesviUe, Alabama. 

The Creek Indians had established a strong fort on 
one of the bends of the Tallapoosa River, near the cen- 
ter of Alabama, about fifty miles below Fort Strother. 
With an army of two thousand men, Gen. Jackson 
traversed the pathless wilderness in a march of eleven 
days. He reached their fort, called Tohopeka or 
Horse-shoe, on tbe 27th of March. 1814. The bend 



of the river enclosed nearly one hunared acres of 
tangled forest and wild ravine. Across the narrow 
neck the Indians had constructed a formidable breast- 
work of logs and brush. Here nine hundred warriors, 
with an ample suply of arms were assembled. 

The fort was stormed. The fight was utterly des- 
perate. Not an Indian would accept of quarter. When 
bleeding and dying, they would fight those who en- 
deavored to spare their lives. From ten in the morn- 
ing until dark, the battle raged. The carnage was 
awful and revolting. .Some threw themselves into the 
river; but the unerring bullet struck their heads as 
they swam. Nearly everyone of the nine hundred war- 
rios were killed A few probably, in the night, swam 
the river and escaped. This ended the war. The 
power of the Creeks was broken forever. This bold 
plunge into the wilderness, with its terriffic slaughter, 
so appalled the savages, that the haggard remnants 
of the bands caiue to the camp, begging for peace. 

This closing of the Creek war enabled us to con- 
centrate all our militia upon the British, who were the 
allies of the Indians No man of less resolute will 
than Gen. Jackson could have conducted this Indian 
campaign to so successful an issue Immediately he 
was appointed major-general. 

Late in August, with an army of two thousand 
men, on a rushing march, Gen. Jackson came to 
Mobile. A British fleet came from Pensacola, landed 
a force upon the beach, anchored near the little fort, 
and from both ship and shore commenced a furious 
assault. The battle was long and doubtful. At length 
one of the ships was blown up and the rest retired. 

Garrisoning Mobile, where he had taken his little 
anny, he moved his troops to New Orleans, 
And the battle of New Orleans which soon ensued, 
was in reality a very arduous campaign. This won 
for Gen. Jackson an imperishable name. Here his 
troops, which numbered about four thousand men, 
won a signal victory over the British army of about 
nine thousand. His loss was but thirteen, while the 
loss of the British was two thousand six liundred. 

The name of Gen. Jackson soon began to be men- 
tioned in connection with the Presidency, but, in 1824, 
he was defeated by Mr. Adams. He was, however, 
successful in the election of 1828, and was re-elected 
for a second term in 1832. In 1829, just before he 
assumed the reins of the government, he met with 
the most terrible affliction of his life in the death of 
his wife, whom he had loved with a devotion which has 
perhaps never been surpassed. From the shock of 
her death he never recovered. 

His administration was one of the most memorable 
in the annals of our country; applaude^i oy one party, 
condemned by the other. No man had more bitter 
enemies or warmer friends. At the expiration of his 
two terms of office he retired to the Hermitage, where 
he died June 8, 1845. The last years of Mr. Jack- 
son's life were that of a devoted Christian man, 




O 7 T^z^a^ ^^-^^/^-^.^^-e^ 



EIGHTH PRESIDENT. 




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npitTll] Y^l] BOI^El]. 





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ARTIN VAN BUREN, ihe 
^hth President of the 
United States, was born at 
Kinderhook, N. Y., Dec. 5, 
1 7 82. He died at the same 
place, July 24, 1862. His 
body rests in the cemetery 
5 at Kinderhook. Above it is 
a plain granite shaft fifteen feet 
high, bearing a simple inscription 
about halt way up on one face. 
The lot is unfenced, unbordered 
or unbounded by shrub or fluwer. 

There is but little in the life of Martin Van Bureu 
of romantic interest. He fought no battles, engaged 
in no wild adventures. Though his life was stormy in 
political and intellectual conflicts, and he gained many 
signal victories, his days passed uneventful in those 
incidents which give zest to biography. His an- 
cestors, as his name indicates, were of Dutch origin, 
and were among the earliest emigrants from Holland 
to the banks of the Hudson. His father was a farmer, 
residing in the old town of Kintlerhook. His mother, 
also of Dutch lineage, was a woman of superior intel- 
ligence and exemplary \)lety. 

.■fe was decidedly a precocious boy, developing un- 
usual activity, vigor and strengtli of mind, .^t the 
age of fourteen, he had finished his academic studies 
'.n his native village, and commenced the study of 
:aw. As he had not a collegiate education, seven 
years of study in a law-office were required of him 
before he could be admitted to the bar. Inspired with 
d lofty ambition, and conscious of his powers, he \m\- 
sued his studies with indefatigable industry. After 
spending six ye.irs in an office in hjs native village, 



he went to the city of New York, and prosecuted hi^ 
studies for the seventh year. 

In 1803, Mr. Van Buren, then twenty-one years of 
age, commenced the practice of law in his native vil- 
lage. The great conflict between tiie federal and 
Republican party was then at its height. Mr. Van 
Buren was from the beginning a politician. He had, 
perhaps, imbibed that spirit while listeni>ng to the 
many discussions which had been carrietl on in his 
father's hotel. He was in cordial sympathy with 
Jefferson, and earnestly and eloquently espoused the 
cause of State Rights; though at that time the Fed- 
eral party held the supremacy both in his town 
and State. 

His success and increasing ruputation led him 
after six years of practice, to remove to Hudson, ih, 
county seat of his county. Here he spent seven years 
constantly gaining strength by contending in thi- 
courts with some of the ablest men who have adorned 
the bar of his State. 

Just before leaving Kinderhook for Hudson, Mi. 
Van Buren married a lady alike distinguished for 
beauty and accomplishments. After twelve short 
years she sank into the grave, the victim of consunqj- 
tion, leaving her husband and four sons to weep ovci 
her loss. For twenty-five years, Mr. Van Buren was 
an earnest, successful, assiduous lawyer. The record 
of those years is barren in items of public interest. 
In 1 Si 2, when thirty years of age, he was chosen to 
the State Senate, and gave his strenuous rupport to 
Mr. Madison's adminstration. In 18 15, he was ap- 
pointed Attorney-General, and tlie next year moved 
to Albany, the capital of the State. 

'A'hile he was ackno\Vledged as one of the most 
prominent leaders of the Democratic party, he had 



48 



MARTIN VAN BUREN. 



the moral courage to avow that true democracy did 
not require that '' universal suffrage " which admits 
the vile, the degraded, the ignorant, to the right of 
governing the State. In true consistency with liis 
democratic principles, he contended that, while the 
path leading to the privilege of voting should be open 
to every man without distinction, no one should be 
invested with that sacred prerogative, unless he were 
in some degree qualified for it by intelligence, virtue 
and some property interests in the welfare of the 
State. 

In 182 1 he was elected :. member of the United 
States Senate; and in the same year, he took a seat 
in the convention to revise the constitution of his 
native State. His course in this convention secured 
the approval of men of all parties. No one could 
doubt the singleness of his endeavors to promote the 
interests of all classes in the community. In the 
Senate of the United States, he rose at once to a 
conspicuous position as an active and useful legislator. 

In 1827, John Quincy Adams being then in the 
Presidential chair, Mr. Van Buren was re-elected to 
che Senate. He had been from the beginning a de- 
.-ermined opposer of the Administration, adopting the 
'State Rights" view in opposition to what was 
deemed the Federal proclivities of Mr. Adams. 

Soon after this, in 1S28, he was chosen Governorof 
the State of New York, and accordingly resigned his 
seat in the Senate. Probably no one in the United 
States contributed so much towards ejecting John O. 
Adams from the Presidential chair, and placing in it 
Andrew Jackson, as did Martin Van Buren. Whetlier 
entitled to the reputation or not, he certainly was re- 
garded througiiout the United States as one of the 
most skillful, sagacious and cunning of politicians. 
It was supposed that no one knew so well as he how 
to touch the secret spiings of action; how to pull all 
the wires to put his machinery in motion ; and how to 
organize a political army which would, secredy and 
stealthily accomplish the most gigantic results. By 
these powers it is said that he outv/itted Mr. Adams, 
Mr. Clay, Mr. Webster, and secured reslilts which 
few thought then could be accomplished. 

When Andrew Jackson was elected President he 
apjxjinted Mr. Van Buren Secretary of State. This 
position lie resigned in 1831, and was immediately 
appointed Minister to England, where he went the 
same autumn. The Senate, however, when it met, 
refused to ratify the nomination, and he returned 



home, apparently untroubled ; was nominated Vice 
President in the place of Calhoun, at the re-election 
of President Jatlcson ; and with smiles for all and 
frowns for none, he took his place at the head of that 
Senate which had refused to confimi his nomination 
as ambassador. 

His rejection by the Senate roused all the zeal of 
President Jackson in behalf of his repudiated favor- 
ite ; and this, probably more than any other cause, 
secured his elevation to the chair of the Chief Execu 
tive. On the 20th of May, 1836, Mr. Van Buren re- 
ceived the Democratic nomination to succeed Gen. 
Jackson as President of the United States. He was 
elected by a handsome majority, to the delight of the 
retiring President. " Leaving New York out of the 
canvass," says Mr. Parton, "the election of Mr. Van 
Buren to the Presidency was as much the act of Gen. 
Jackson as though the Constitution had conferred 
upon him the power to appoint a successor." 

His administration was filled with exciting events- 
The insurrection in Canada, which threatened to in- 
volve this country in war with England, the agitation 
of the slavery question, and finally the great commer- 
cial panic whicli spread over the country, all were 
trials to his wisdom. The financial distress was at- 
tributed to the management of the Democratic party, 
and brought the President into such disfavor that he 
failed of re-election. 

With the exception of being nominated for the 
Presidency by the "Free Soil" Democrats, in 1848, 
Mr. Van Buren lived quietly upon his estate until 
his death. 

He had ever been a prudent man, of frugal habits, 
and living within his income, had now fortunately a 
competence for his declining years. His unblemished 
character, his commanding abilities, his unquestioned 
patriotism, and the distinguished positions which he 
had occupied in the government of our country, se- 
cured to him not only the homage of his party, but 
the respect ot the whole community. It was on the 
4th of March, 1841, that Mr. Van Buren retired from 
the presidency. From his fine estate at Lindenwald. 
he still exerted a powerful influence upon the politics 
of the country. From this time until his death, on 
the 24th of July, 1862, at the age of eighty years, he 
resided at Lindenwald, a gentleman of leisure, of 
culture and of wealth; enjoying in a healthy old 
age, probably far more happiness than he had before 
experienced amid the stormy scenes of his active life- 




y(^\ M )9^^ZA,^ 



■>u^ 



NINTH P RESIDENT. 





ILLIAM HENRY HARRI- 

, SON, the ninth President ot 
the United States, was born 
at Berkeley, Va., Feb. 9, 1773. 
His father, Benjamin Harri- 
son, was in comparatively op- 
ulent circumstances, and was 
one of the most distinguished 
men of his day. He was an 
intimate friend of George 
Washington, w as early elected 
a member of the Continental 
Congress, and was conspicuous 
among the patriots of Virginia in 
resisting the encroachments of the 
r.ritish crown. In the celebrated 
Congress of 1775, Benjamin Har- 
rison and John Hancock were 
both candidates for the office of 
S|ieaker. 

Mr Harrison was subsequently 
chosen Governor of Virginia, and 
was twice re-elected. His son, 
William Henry, of course enjoyed 
in childhood all the advantages which wealth and 
intellectual and cultivated society could give. Hav- 
ing received a thorough common-school education, he 
entered Hampden Sidney College, where he graduated 
with honor soor. after the death of his father. He 
t-heii repaired to Philadelphia to study medicine under 
the instructions of Dr. Rush and the guardianship of 
'obert Morris, both of whom were, with his firther, 
•signers of the Declaration of Independence. 

Jjiou the outbreak of the Indian troubles, and not- 
withstanding the remonstrances of his friends, he 
abandoned his medical studies and entered the army, 
-laving obtained a commission of Ensign from Presi- 



; dent \\ashington. He was then but 19 years old, 
From that time he passed gradually upward in rank 
until he became aid to General Wayne, after whose 
death he resigned his commission. He was then aii- 
pointed Secretary of the North-western 'I'erritory. This 
'I'erritory was then entitled to but one member in 
Congress and Capt. Harrison was chosen to fill that 
position. 

In the spring of 1800 the North-western Territory 
was divided by Congress into two portions. The 
eastern portion, comprising the region now embraced 
in the .State of Ohio, was called " The Territory 
nurth-west of the Ohio." The western portion, which 
included what is now called Indiana, Illinois and 
AVisconsin, was called the "Indiana Territory." Wil 
liam Henry Harrison, then 27 years of age, was a]) 
pointed by John Adams, Governor of the Indiana 
Territory, and immediately after, also Governor of 
Upper Louisiana. He was thus ruler over almost as 
extensive a realm as any sovereign iiixjn the globe. He 
was Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and was in- 
vested with powers nearly dictatorial over the now 
rapidly increasing white jwpulation. The ability and 
fidelity with which he discharged these responsible 
duties may be inferred from the fact that he was four 
times appointed to this office — first by John Adams, 
twice by Thomas Jefferson and afterwards by Presi- 
dent Madison. 

When he began his adminstration there were but 
three white settlementsin that almost lioundless region, 
now crowded with cities and resounding with all the 
tumult of wealth and traffic. One of these settlements 
was on the Ohio, nearly ojiposite Louisville; one at 
Vincennes, on the Wal)ash, and the tliiid a French 
settlement. 

The vast wilderness over which Gov. Harrisoii 
reigned was filled with many tribes of Indians. Aboi" 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 



the year 1806, two extraordinary men, twin brothers, 
of the Shawnese tribe, rose among them. One of 
these was called Tecumseh, or "The Crouching 
Panther;" the other, Olliwacheca, or "The Prophet." 
Tecumseh was not only an Indian warrior, but a man 
of great sagacity, far-reaching foresight and indomit- 
able perseverance in any enterprise m which he might 
engage. He was inspired with the highest enthusiasm, 
and had long regarded with dread and with hatred 
the encroachment of the whites upon the hunting- 
grounds of his fathers. His brother, the Prophet, was 
"anorator, who could sway the feelings of the untutored 
Indian as the gale tossed the tree-tops beneath which 
they dwelt. 

But the Prophet was not merely an orator :^ he was, 
in the superstitious minds of the Indians, invested 
with the superhuman dignity of a medicine-man or a 
magician. With an enthusiasm unsurpassed by Peter 
the Hermit rousing Europe to the crusades, he went 
from tribe to tribe, assuming that he was specially sent 
by the Great Spirit. 

Gov. Harrison made many attempts to conciliate 
the Indians, but at last the war came, and at Tiitpe- 
canoe the Indians were routed with great slaughter. 
October 28, 1812, his army began its march. When 
near the Prophet's town three Indians of rank made 
their appearance and inquired why Gov. Harrison was 
approaching them in so hostile an attitude. After a 
short conference, arrangements were made fora meet- 
ing the next day, to agree upon terms of peace. 

But Gov. Harrison was too well acquainted with 
the Indian character to be deceived by such protes- 
tations. Selecting a favorable spot for his night's en- 
campment, he took every precaution against surprise. 
His troops were posted in a hollow square, and slept 
upon their arms. 

The troops threw themselves upon the ground for 
rest; but every man had his accourtrements on, his 
loaded musket by his side,and his bayonet fixed. The 
wakeful Governor, between three and four o'clock in 
the morning, had risen, and was sitting in conversa- 
tion with his aids by the embers of a waning fire. It 
was a chill, cloudy morning with a drizzling rain. In 
t!ie darkness, the Indians had crept as near as possi- 
ble, and j'ist then, with a savage yell, rushed, with all 
the desperation which superstition and i)assion most 
highly inflamed could give, upon the left Hank of the 
little army. The savages had been amply provided 
with guns and ammunition by the English. Their 
war-whoop was accompained by a shower of bullets. 

The camp-fires were instantly extinguished, as the 
light aided the Indians in their aim. With hide- 
nus yells, the Indian bands rushed on, not doubting a 
speedy and an entire victory. But Gen. Harrison's 
troops stood as immovable as the rocks around them 
until day dawned ■• they then made a simultaneous 
charge with the bayonet, and swept every thing be- 
fore thein, and completely routing th*" foe. 



Gov. Harrison now had all his energies tasked 
to the utmost. The British descending from the Can- 
adas, were of themselves a very formidable force ; but 
with their savage allies, rushing like wolves I'rom the 
forest, searching out every remote farm-house, burn- 
ing, plundering, scalping, torturing, the wide frontier 
was plunged into a state of consternation which even 
the most vivid imagination can but faintly conceive. 
The war-whoop was resounding everywhere in the 
forest. The horizon was illuminated with the conflagra- 
tion of the cabins of the setders. Gen Hull had madt- 
the ignominious surrender of his forces at Detroit. 
Under these despairing circumstances, Gov. Harrison 
was appointed by President Madison commander-in- 
chief of the North-western army, with orders to retake 
Detroit, and to protect the frontiers. 

It would be difficult to place a man in a situation 
demanding more energy, sagacity and courage; but 
General Harrison was found equal to the position, 
and nobly and triumphantly did he meet all the re 
sponsibilities. 

He won the love of his soldiers by always sharins' 
with them their fatigue. His whole baggage, while 
pursuing the foe up the Thames, was carried in a 
valise; and his bedding consisted of a single blanket 
lashed over his saddle. Thirty-five British officers, 
his prisoners of war, supped with him after the battle 
The only fare he could give them was beef roasted 
before the fire, without bread or salt. 

In 1816, Gen. Harrison was chosen a iT.ember ol 
the National House of Representatives, to represei-t 
the District of Ohio. In Congress he proved an 
active member; and whenever he spoke, it was with 
force of reason and power of eloquence, which arrested 
the attention of all the members. 

In 1819, Harrison was elected to the Senate ol 
Ohio; and in 1S24, as one of the presidential electors 
of that State, he gave his vote for Henry Clay. The 
same year he was chosen to the United States Senate. 
In 1836, the friends of Gen. Harrison brought him 
forward as a candidate for the Presidency against 
Van Buren, but he was defeated. At the close of 
Mr. Van Buren's term, he was re-nomii:ated by his 
party, and Mr. Harrison was unanimou.sly nominated 
by the Whigs, with John Tyler iorthe Vice Presidenc\ 
The contest was very animated. Gen Jackson gave 
all his influence to prevent Harrison's election ; bu* 
his triumph was signal. 

The cabinet which he formed, with Daniel Webstei 
at its head as Secretary of State, was one of the most 
brilliant with which any President had ever been 
surrounded. Never were the prospects of an admin- 
istration more flattering, or the hopes of the countr\ 
more sanguine. In the midst of these bright and 
joyous prospects, Gen. Harrison was seized b^ a 
pleurisy-fever and after a few days of violent sick- 
ness, died on the 4th of April ; just one month after 
his inauguration as President of the UtMied States, 





?/rz. 




TENTH PRESIDENT. 



55 





rv^ ? OHN TYLER, the tenth 
Piesidentof the United States. 
He was born in Charles-city 
Co., Va., March 29, 1790. He 
was the favored child of af- 
fluence and high social po- 
sition. .\t the early age of 
twelve, John entered William 
and Mary College and grad- 
uated with much honor when 
but seventeen years old. After 
graduating, he devoted liini- 
self with great assiduity to the 
study of law, partly with his 
father and p.irtly with Edmund 
Randolph, one of the most distin- 
guished lawyers of Virginia. 

At nineteen years of age, ne 
commenced the practice of law. 
His success was rapid and aston- 
ishing. It is said that three 
months had not elapsed ere there 
was scarcely a case on the dock- 
et of the court in which he was 
!tOt retained. When but twenty-one years of age, he 
was almost unanimously e'ected to a seat in the State 
Legislature. He connected himself with the Demo- 
cratic party, and warmly advocated the measures of 
Tefferson and Madison. For five successive years he 
was elected to the Legislature, receiving nearly the 
unanimous vote or his county. 

When but twenty-six years of age, he was elected 
a member of Congress. Here he acted earnestly and 
ably with the Democratic party, opposing a national 
bank, internal improvements by the General <^uvern- 



nient, a ])rotective tariff, and advocating a strict con- 
strucliou of the Constitution, and the most careful 
vigilance over State rights. His laliors in Congress 
were so arduous that before the close of his second 
term \\: found it necessary to resign and retire to his 
estate in Charles-city Co., to recruit his health. He, 
however, soon after consented t(i take his seat in the 
State Legislature, where his influence was powerful 
in promoting public works of great utility. With a 
reputation thus canstantly increasing, he was cliosen 
by a very large majority of votes. Governor of his 
native State. His administration was signally a suc- 
cessful one. His popularity secured his re-election. 

John Randolph, a brilliant, erratic, half-crazed 
man, then represented Virginia in the Senate of the 
United States. A portion of the Democratic party 
was displeased with Mr. Randolph's wayward course, 
and Ijrought forward John Tyler as his opponent, 
considering him the only man in Virginia of sufficient 
popularity to succeed against the renowned orator of 
Roanoke. Mr. T_\ler was the victor. 

In accordance with his professions, upon taking his 
seat in the Senate, he joined the ranks of the opposi- 
tion. He opposed the tariff; he spoke against and 
voted against the bank as unconstitutional ; he stren- 
uously opposed all restrictions upon slavery, resist- 
ing all projects of internal improvements by the Gen- 
eral Government, and avowed his sympathy with Mr. 
Calhoun's view of nullification; he declared that Gen. 
Jackson, by his opposition to the nuliifiers, had 
abandoned the principles of the Democratic party. 
Such was Mr, Tyler's record in Congress, — a record 
in perfect accordance with the principles which be 
had always avowed. 

Returning to Virginia, he resumed the practice of 
iiis profession. There was a rpilit in the Democratic 



JOHN TYLER. 



/.uty. His friends still regarded him as a true Jef- 
iersonian, gave him a dinner, and showered compli- 
ments upon hiai. He had now attained the age of 
forty-six. His career had been very brilliant. In con- 
seijuence of his devotion to public business, his pri- 
vate affairs had fallen into some disorder; and it was 
not without satisfaction that he resumed the practice 
of law, and devoted himself to the culture of his plan- 
tation. Soon after this he removed to Williamsburg, 
for the better education of his children ; and he again 
took his seat in the Legi>lature of Viiginia. 

By the Southern Whigs, he was sent to the national 
convention at Harrisburg to nominate a President in 
•839. The majority of votes were given to Gen. Har- 
rison, a genuine Whig, much to the disappointment of 
the South, who wished for Henry Clay. To concili- 
ate the Southern Whigs and to secure their vote, the 
convention then nominated John Tyler for Vice Pres- 
ident. It was well known that he was not in sympa- 
thy with the Whig party in the NoUh: but the Vice 
President has but very little power in the Govern- 
ment, his main and almost only duty being to pre- 
side over the meetings of the Senate. Thus it hap- 
pened that a Whig President, and, in reality, a 
Democratic Vice President were chosen. 
■ In 1841, Mr. Tyler was inaugurated Vice Presi- 
dent of the United States. In one short month from 
that time, President Harrison died, and Mr. Tyler 
thus _;und himself, to his own surprise and that of 
the whole Nation, an occupant of the Presidential 
chair. This was a new test of the stability of our 
institutions, as it was the first time in the history of our 
country that such an event had occured. Mr. Tyler 
was at home in Williamsburg when he received the 
une.xpected tidings of the death of President Harri- 
son. He hastened to Washington, and on the 6th of 
^.".xW was inaugurated to the high and responsible 
office. He was placed in a position of exceeding 
delicacy and difficulty. All his longlife he had been 
o])posed tc the main principles of the jiarty which had 
brought him into power. He had ever been a con- 
sistent, honc;t man, with an unblemished record. 
Gen. Harrison had selected a Whig cabinet. Should 
he retain them, and thus surround himself with coun- 
sellors whose views were antagonistic to his own.' or, 
on the other hand, should he turn against the party 
which had elected him and select a cabinet in har- 
mony with himself, and which would oppose all those 
views which the Whigs deemed essential to the pub- 
lic welfare? This was his fearful dilemma. He in- 
vited the cabinet which President Harrison had 
:-elected to retain their seats. He reccommended a 
day of fasting and prayer, that God would guide and 
bless us. 

The Whigs carried through Congress a bill for the 
incorporation of a fiscal bank of the United States. 
The President, after ten days' delay, returned it with 
his veto. He ouessested, however, that he would 



approve of a bill drawn up upon such a plan as he 
proposed. Such a bill was accordingly prepared, and 
privately submitted to him. He gave it his approval. 
It was passed without alteration, and he sent it back 
with his veto. Here commenced the open rupture. 
It is said that Mr. Tyler was provoked to this meas- 
ure by a published letter from the Hon. John M. 
Botts, a distinguished Virginia Whig, who severely 
touched the pride of the President. 

The opposition now exultingly received the Presi- 
dent into their arms. The party which elected him 
denounced him bitterly. All the members of his 
cabinet, excepting Mr. Webster, resigned. The Whigs 
of Congress, both the Senate and the House, held a 
meeting and issued an address to the people of the 
United States, proclaiming that all political alliance 
between the Whigs and President Tyler were at 
an end. 

Still the President attempted to conciliate. He 
appointed a new cabmet of distinguished Whigs and 
Conservatives, carefully leaving out all strong party 
men. Mr. Webster soon found it necessary to resign, 
forced out by the pressure of his Whig friends. Thus 
the four years of Mr. Tyler's unfortunate administra- 
tion passed sadly away. No one was satisfied. The 
land was filled with murmurs and vituperation. Whigs 
and Democrats alike assailed him. More and more, 
however^ he brought himself into sympathy with his 
old friends, the Democrats, until atthe close of his term, 
he gave his whole influence to the support of Mr. 
Polk, the Democratic candidate for his successor. 

On the 4th of March, 1845, he retired from th-,; 
harassments of office, tothe regret of neitherparty, ai-.d 
probably to his own unspeakable relief. His first wife. 
Miss Letitia Christian, died in Washington, in 1842; 
and in June, 1844, President Tyler was again married, 
at New York, to Miss Julia Gardiner, a young lady ol 
many personal and intellectual accomplishments. 

The remainder of his days Mr. Tyler passed mainly 
in retirement at his beautiful home, — Sherwood For- 
est, Charles -city Co., Va. A polished gentleman in 
his manners, richly furnished with information from 
books and experience in the world, and possessing 
brilliant powers of conversation, his family circle was 
the scene of unusual attractions. Witli sufficient 
moans for tlie exercise of a generous hospitality, he 
might have enjoyed a serene old age with the few 
friends who gathered around him, were it not for the 
storms of civil war which his own principles and 
policy had helped to introduce. 

When the great Rebellion rose, which the State- 
rights and nullifying doctrines of Mr. John C. C;\\- 
houn had inaugurated, President Tyler renounced his 
allegiance to the United States, and joined the Confed- 
erates. He was chosen a memljer of their Congress; 
and while engaged in active measures to destroy, by 
force of arms, the Government over which he had 
once presided, he was taken sick and soon died. 





(S'^c-^^ OC^ -^-^^'^c^^ ^ - ^ ^ 



RLE I -EN rrr presiden t. 



59 











w 



AMES K. POLK, the eleventh 

^aPresident of the United States, 

was born in Mecklenburg Co., 

N. C, Nov. 2, 1795. His par- 

7f^ ents were Samuel and Jane 

(Kno.x) Polk, the former a son 

of Col. Tlionias I'olk, who located 

at the above place, as one of the 

first pioneers, in 1735. 

In the year i 3o6, with his wife 
and children, ar.d soon after fol- 
lowed by most of the members of 
the Polk fanily, Samuel Polk emi- 
grated some two or three hundred 
miles farther west, to the rich valley 
of the Duck River. Here in the 
midst of the wilderness, in a region 
which was subsequently called Mau- 
ry Co., they reared their log huls, 
and established their homes. In the 
hard toil of a new farm in the wil- 
derness, James K. Polk spent the 
early years of his childhood and 
youth. His father, adding the pur- 
suit of a surveyor to that of a farmer, 
gradually increased in wealth until 
lie became one of the leading men of the region. His 
mother was a superior woman, of strong common 
sense and earnest piety. 

Very early in life, James developed a taste for 
reading and expressed the strongest desire to obtain 
a liberal education. His mother's training had made 
him methodical in his habits, had taught him punct- 
uality and industry, and had inspired him with lofty 
principles of morality. His health was frail ; and his 
father, fearing that he might not be able to endure a 



sedentary life, got a situation for him behind the 
counter, hoping to fit him for commercial pursuits. 

This was to James a l)itter disaijpointment. He 
had no taste for these duties, and his daily tasks 
were irksome in the extreme. He remained in this 
uncongenial occupation but a few weeks, when at his 
earnest solicitation his father removed him, and made 
arrangements for him to prosecute his studies. Soon 
after he sent him to Murfreesboro Academy. With 
ardor which could scarcely be surpassed, he pressed 
forward in his studies, and in less than two and a half 
years, in the autumn of 1815, entered the sophomore 
class in the University of North Carolina, at Chapel 
Hill. Here he was one of the most exemplary of 
scholars, punctual in every exercise, never allowing 
himself to be absent from a recitation or a religious 
service. 

He graduated in 1818, with the highest honors, be« 
ing deemed the best scholar of his class, both in 
matljematics and the classics. He was then twehty- 
tiiree years of age. Mr. Polk's health was at thi? 
time much impaired by the assiduity with which he 
had prosecuted his studies. After a short season of 
relaxation he went to Nashville, and entered the 
office of Felix Crrundy, to study law. Here Mr. Polk 
renewed his acquaintance with Andrew Jackson, who 
resided on his plantation, the Hermitage, but a few 
miles from Nashville. They had probably beer 
slightly acquainted before. 

Mr. Polk's father was a Jeffersonian Republican, 
and James K. Polk ever adhered to the same jjoliti- 
cal faith. He was a popular ])ublic speaker, and was 
constantly called upon to address the meetings of his 
party friends. His skill as a speaker was such that 
he was popularly called the Napoleon of the stump. 
He was a man of unblemished morals, genia' and 



/AMES K. POLK. 



zourter us in his bearing, and with that sympathetic 
nature in the jo) s and griefs of others which ever gave 
liim troops of friends. In 1823, Mr. Polk was elected 
to the Legislature of Tennessee. Here he gave his 
strong influence towards the election of his friend, 
Mr. Jackson, to the Presidency of the United States. 

In January, 1824, Mr. Polk married Miss Sarah 
Childress, of Rutherford Co., Tenn. His bride was 
altogether worthy of him, — a lady of beauty and cul- 
ture. In the fall of 1825, Mr. Polk was chosen a 
member of Congress. The satisfaction which he gave 
to his constituents may be inferred from the fact, that 
for fourteen successive years, until 1839, he was con- 
tinuec^ in that office. He then voluntarily withdrew, 
only that he might accept the Gubernatorial chair 
of T'^nnessee. In Congress he was a laborious 
meraber, a frequent and a popular speaker. He was 
always in his seat, always courteous; and whenever 
he spoke it was always to the point, and without any 
ambitious rhetorical display. 

During five sessions of Congress, Mr. Polk was 
Speaker of the House Strong passions were roused, 
and stormy scenes were witnessed ; but Mr Polk per- 
formed his arduous duties to a very general satisfac- 
tion, and a unanimous vote of thanks to him was 
passed by the House as he withdrew on the 4th of 
March, 1839. 

In accordance with Southern usage, Mr. Polk, as a 
candidate for Governor, canvassed the State. He was 
elected by a large majority, and on the 14th of Octo- 
ber, 1839, took the oath of office at Nashville. In 1841, 
his term of office expired, and he was again the can- 
didate of the Democratic party, but was defeated. 

On the 4th of March, 1845, Mr. Polk was inaugur- 
ated President of the United States. The verdict of 
the country in favor of the annexation of Texas, exerted 
its influence upon Congress ; and the last act of the 
administration of President Tyler was to affix his sig- 
nature to a joint resohition of Congress, passed on the 
3d of March, approving of the annexation of Texas to 
the American Union. As Mexico still claimed Texas 
as one of her provinces, the Mexican minister, 
Almonte, immediately demanded his passports and 
left the country, declaring the act of the annexation 
to be an act hostile to Mexico. 

In his first message, President Polk urged that 
Texas should immediately, by act of Congress, be re- 
ceived into the Union on the same footing with the 
other States. In the meantime, Gen. Taylor was sent 



with an army into Texas to hold the country. He was 
sent first to Nueces, which the Mexicans said was the 
western boundary of Texas. Then he was sent nearly 
two hundred miles further west, to the Rio Grande, 
where he erected batteries which commanded the 
Mexican city of Matamoras, which was situated on 
the western banks. 

The anticipated collision soon took place, and wa; 
was declared against Mexico by President Polk. Tht 
war was pushed forward by Mr. Polk's administration 
with great vigor. Gen. Taylor, whose army was first 
called one of "observation," then of "occupation," 
thenof" invasion, "was sent forward to Monterey. The 
feeble Mexicans, in every encounter, were hopelessly 
and awfully slaughtered. The day of judgement 
alone can reveal the misery which this war caused. 
It v/as by the ingenuity of Mr. Polk's administration 
that the war was brought on. 

'To the victors belong the spoils." Mexico was 
prostrate before us. Her capital was in our hands. 
We now consented to peace upon the condition that 
Mexico should surrender to us, in addition to Texas, 
all of New Mexico, and all of Upper and Lower Cal- 
ifornia. This new demand embraced, exclusive of 
Texas, eight hundred thousand square miles. This 
was an extent of territory equal to nine States of the 
size of New York. Thus slavery was securing eighteen 
majestic States to be added to the Union. There were 
some Americans who thought it all right : there were 
others who thought it all wrong. In the prosecution 
of this war, we expended twenty thousand lives and 
more than a liundred million of dollars. Of this 
money fifteen millions were paid to Mexico. 

On the 3d of March, 1849, Mr. Polk retired from 
office, having served one term. The next day was 
Sunday. On the 5th, Gen. Taylor was inaugurated 
as his successor. Mr. Polk rode to the Capitol in the 
same carriage with Gen. Taylor; and the same even- 
ing, with Mrs. Polk, he commenced his return to 
Tennessee. He was then but fifty-four years of age. 
He had ever been strictly temperate in all his habits, 
and his health was good. With an ample fortune, 
a choice library, a cultivated mind, and domestic ties 
of the dearest nature, it seemed as though long years 
of trancpiility and happiness were before him. But the 
cholera — that fearful scourge — was then sweeping up 
the Valley of the Mississippi. This he contracted, 
and died on the 15th of June, 1849, in the fifiv.fourth 
year of his age, greatly mourned by his coumrymen. 




^ OuC^'/Li^Pt- 



y yr^t^ ^^ . 



TIVELFTH PRESIDKNT. 



'^vly? 












„ ACHARY TAYLOR, twelfth 
\m I'resident of the United States, 
'^* was born on the 24th of Nov., 
1784, in Orange Co., Va. His 
father, Colonel Taylor, was 
a Virginian of note, and a dis- 
^0 tinguished patriot and soldier of 
the Revolution. When Zachary 
was an infant, his father with his 
wife and two children, emigrated 
to Kentucky, wiiere he settled in 
the pathless wilderness, a few 
miles from Louisville. \\\ this front- 
ier home, away from civilization and 
I all its refinements, yjung Zachary 
could enjoy but few social and educational advan- 
tages. When si.x years of age he attended a common 
school, and was then regarded .is a blight, active boy, 
rather remarkable for bluntness and decision of char- 
acter He was strong, feailess and self-reliant, and 
manifested a strong desire to enter the army to fight 
the Lidians who were ravaging the frontiers. There 
is little to be recorded of the uneventful years of his 
childhood on his father's large but lonely plantation. 
In 1808, his father succeeded in obtaining for him 
the commission of lieutenant in the United States 
army ; and lie joined Ihe troops which were stationed 
at New Orleans under Gen. Wilkinson. Soon after 
this he married Miss Margaret Smith, a young lady 
from one of the first families of Maryland. 

Lnmediately after the declaration of war with Eng- 
land, in 18 12, Capt. Taylor (for he had then been 
liromoted to that rank) was put in command of F'ort 
Harrison, on the Wabash, about fifty miles above 
Vincennes. This fort had been built in the wilder- 
ness by Gen. Harrison. on his march to Tippecanoe. 
It was one of the first points of attack by the Lidians, 
.ed by Tecumseh. Its garrison consisted of a broken 



company of infantry numbering fifty men, many of 
whom were sick. 

Early in the autumn of 181.', the Indians, stealthily, 
and in large numbers, moved upon the fort. Their 
apiiroach was first indicated by the murder of two 
soldiers just outside of the stockade. Capt. Taylor 
made every possible preparation to meet the antici- 
pated assault. On the 4th of September, a band of 
forty painted and plumed savages came to the fort, 
waving a white flag, and informed Capt. Taylor that 
in the morning their chief would come to have a talk 
with him. It was evident that their object was merely 
to ascertain the state of things at the fort, and Capt. 
Taylor, well versed in the wiles of the savages, kept 
them at a distance. 

The sun went down ; the savages disappeared, the 
garrison slept upon their arms. One hour before 
midnight the war whoop burst from a thousand lips 
in the forest around, followetl by the discharge of 
musketry, and the rush of the foe. Every man, sick 
and well, sprang to iiis [jost. Every man knew that 
defeat was not merely death, but in the case of cap- 
ture, death liy the most agonizing and prolonged tor- 
ture. No pen can describe, no immagination can 
conceive the scenes which ensued. Tiie savages suc- 
ceeded in setting fjre to one of the block-liouses- 
Until si.x o'clock in the morning, this awful conflict 
continued. The savages tiien, baffled at every jioint, 
and gnashing their teeth with rage, retired. Capt. 
Taylor, for this galiaiu defence, was promoted to the 
rank of major by brevet. 

Until the close of the war, MajorTaylor was jilaced 
in such situations that he saw but little more of active 
service. He was sent far away into the depthsof the 
wilderness, to Fort Crawford, on Fox River, which 
empties into Green Bay. Here there was but htile 
to be done but to wear away the tedious hours as one 
best could. There were no books, no society, no in- 



04 



ZACHARY TAYLOR 



tellectual stimulus. Thus with him the uneventful 
years rolled on Gradually he rose to the rank of 
colonel. In the Black Hawk war, which resulted in 
the capture of that renowned chieftain, Col Taylor 
took a subordinate but a brave and efficient part. 

For twenty-four years Col. Taylor was engaged in 
the defence of the frontiers, in scenes so remote, and in 
employments so obscure, that his name was unknown 
oeyond the limits of his owu immediate acquaintance. 
In the year 1836, he was sent to Florida to compel 
the Seminole Indians to vacate that region and re- 
tire beyond the Mississippi, as their chiefs by treaty, 
iiac' promised they should do. The services rendered 
he'.e secured for Col. Taylor the high appreciation of 
the Government ; and as a reward, he was elevated 
tc Jie rank of brigadier-general by brevet ; and soon 
after, in May, 1838, was appointed to the chief com- 
mand of the United States troops in Florida. 

After two years of such wearisome employment 
amidst the everglades of the peninsula. Gen. Taylor 
obtained, at his own request, a change of command, 
r.iid was stationed over the Department of the South- 
west. This field embraced Louisiana, Mississippi, 
Alabama and Georgia. Establishing his headquarters 
at Fort Jessup, in Louisiana, he removed his family 
to a plantation which he purchased, near Baton Rogue. 
Here he remained for five years, buried, as it v/ere, 
from the world, but faithfully discharging every duty 
imposed upon him. 

In 1846, Gen. Taylor was sent to guard the land 
between the Nueces and Rio Grande, the latter river 
being the boundary of Texas, which was then claimed 
by the United States. Soon the war with Mexico 
was brought on, and at Palo Alto and Resaca de la 
Palma, Gen. Taylor won brilliant victories over the 
Mexicans. The rank of major-general by brevet 
was then conferred upon Gen. Taylor, and his name 
Was received with enthusiasm almost everywhere in 
the Nation. Then came the battles of Monterey and 
Buena Vista in which he won signal victories over 
forces much larger than he commanded. 

His careless habits of dress and his unaffected 
^•iinplicity, secured for Gen. Taylor among his troops, 
Cnz sobriijuet of "Old Rough and Ready.' 

The tidings of the brilliant victory of Buena Vista 
spread the wildest enthusiasm over the country. The 
name of Gen. Taylor was on every one's lips. The 
Whig party decided to take advantage of this wonder- 
ful popularity in bringing forward the unpolished, un- 

■■?red, honest soldier as their candidate for the 
I'residency. Gen. Taylor was astonished at the an- 
nouncement, and for a time would not listen to it; de- 
claring that he was not at all ([ualified for such an 
office. So little interest had he taken in politics that, 
for forty years, he had not cast a vote. It was not 
without chagrin that several distinguished statesmen 
who had been long years in the public service found 
•l.sir claims set aside in behalf of one whose name 



had never been heard of, save in connection with Palo 
Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey and Buena 
Vista. It is said that Daniel Webster, in his haste re- 
marked, " It is a nomination not fit to be made." 

Gen. Taylor was not an eloquent speaker nor a fine 
writer His friends took possession of him, and pre- 
pared such few communications as it was needful 
should be presented to the public. The popularity of 
the successful warrior swept the land. He was tri- 
umphantly elected over two opposing candidates, — 
Gen. Cass and Ex-President Martin Van Buren. 
Though he selected an excellent cabinet, the good 
old man found himself in a very uncongenial position, 
and was, at times, sorely perplexed and harassed. 
His mental sufferings were very severe, and probably 
tended to hasten his death. The pro-slavery party 
was pushing its claims with tireless energy , expedi- 
tions were fitting out to capture Cuba ; California was 
pleading for admission to the Union, while slavery 
stood at the door to bar her out. Gen. Taylor found 
the political conflicts in Washington to be far more 
trying to the nerves than battles with Mexicans or 
Indians 

In the midst of all these troubles, Gen. Taylor, 
after he had occupied the Presidential chair but little 
over a year, took cold, and after a brief sickness of 
but little over five days, died on the glh of July, 1850. 
His last words were, " I am not afraid to die. I am 
ready. I have endeavored to do my duty." He died 
universally respected and beloved. An honest, un- 
pretending man, he had been steadily growing in the 
affections of the people; and the Nation bitterly la- 
mented his death. 

Gen. Scott, who was thoroughly acquainted with 
Gen. Taylor, gave the following graphic and truthful 
description of his character: — " With a good store of 
common sense, Gen. Taylor's mind had not been en- 
larged and refreshed by reading, or much converse 
with the world. Rigidity of ideas was the conse- 
quence. The frontiers and small military posts had 
been his home. Hence he was quite ignorant for his 
rank, and quite bigoted in his ignorance. His sim- 
plicity was child-like, and with innumerable preju- 
dices, amusing and incorrigible, well suited to the 
tender age. Thus, if a man, however respectable, 
chanced to wear a coat of an unusual color, or his hat 
a little on one side of his head; or an officer to leave 
a corner of his handkerchief dangling from an out- 
side pocket, — in any such case, this critic held the 
offender to be a coxcomb (perhaps something worse), 
whom he would not, to use his oft repeated jihrase, 
' touch with a pair of tongs.' 

"Any allusion to literature beyond good old Dil- 
worth's spelling-book, on the part of one wearing a 
sword, was evidence, with the same judge, of utter 
unfitness for heavy marchings and combats. In shorf 
few men have ever had a more comfori:a:.V '■^'■"». 
saving contempt for learnirg of every kind. 




t^w ~ 



'f 




1-4-^ J (-<-'{!U'^t.-txn/J 



TJIIRTEENTJI FRESIDENT. 



6r 








'MILLflRn FILLMnHE. 



-^M—i 






4^ 








ILLARD FILLMORE, thi:- 
^^teenth President of the United 

. ... jj States, was born at Summer 

'^(sljl--' X?!^ Hill, Cayuga Co., N. Y ., on 
^ ' the yth of January, 1800. His 

■^ father was a farmer, and ow- 
ing to misfortune, in humble cir- 
cumstances. Of his mother, the 
daugliter of Dr. Abiathar Millard, 
of Pittsfield, Mass., it has been 
said that she possessed an intellect 
of very high order, united with much 
personal loveliness, sweetness of dis- 
position, graceful manners and ex- 
quisite sensibilities. She died in 
1831 ; having lived to see her son a 
young man of distinguished [)rom- 
ise, though she was not permitted to witness the high 
dignity which he finally attained. 

In consequence of the secluded home and limited 
means of his father, Millard enjoyed but slender ad- 
vantages for education in his early years. The com- 
mon schools, which he occasionally attended were 
very imperfect nistitutions; and books were scarce 
and expensive. There was nothing then in his char- 
acter to indicate the brilliant career upon which he 
was about to enter. He was a plain farmer's boy; 
intelligent, good-looking, kind-he ,ed. The sacred 
influences of home had *'. .ght him to revere the Bible, 
and had laid the foundations of an u()right character. 
When fourteen years of age, his father sent him 
some hundred miles from home, to the then wilds <i^ 
Livingston Cour.ty, to learn the trade of a clothier. 
Near the mil! there was a small villiage, wheri^ sonic 



enterprising man had commenced the collection of a 
village library. This proved an inestimable blessing 
to young Fillmore. His evenings were spent in read- 
ing. Soon every leisure moment was occujiied with 
books. His thirst fur knowledge became insatiate 
and the selections which he made were continually 
more elevating and instructive. He read history, 
biography, oratory, and thus gradually there was en- 
kindled in his heart a desire to be something more 
than a mere worker with his liands; and he was be- 
coming, almost unknown to himself a well-informed, 
educated man. 

The young clothier had now attained the age of 
nineteen years, and was of fine personal appearance 
and of gentlemanly demeanor. It so happened tha'. 
there was a gentleman m the neighbovhoud of ample 
pecuniary means and of benevolence, — Judge Walter 
Wood, — who was struck with the urepossessing ap- 
pearance of young P'illniore. He made his acquaint- 
ance, and was so much impnessed with his ability and 
attainments that he advised him to abandon his 
trade and devote himself to the study of the lau. The 
young man replied, that he had no means of his own, 
r.o friends to help him and that his previous educa- 
tion had been very imperfect. But Judge Wood had 
so much confidence in him that he kindly offered to 
take him into his own office, and to loan him such 
money as he needed. Most gratefully the generous 
offer was accepted. 

There is in many minds a strange delusion about 
a collegiate education. A young man is supposed to 
be liberally educated if he has graduated at some col- 
lege. But many a boy loiters through university hall-- 
ind then enters a law office, who is by no means as 



Hi 



MILLARD FILLMORE. 



well prepared to prosecute his legal studies as was 
Millard Fillmore when he graduated at the clothing- 
nrill at the end of four years of manual labor, during 
which every leisure moment had been devoted to in- 
tense mental culture. 

In 1S23, when twenty-three years of age, he was 
admitted to the Court of Common Pleas. He then 
went to the village of Aurora, and commenced the 
practice of law. In this secluded, peaceful region, 
his practice of course was limited, and there was no 
opportunity for a sudden rise in fortune or in fame. 
Here, in the year 1826, he married a lady of great 
moral worth, and one capable of adorning any station 
she might be called to fill, — -Miss Abigail Powers. 

His elevation of character, his untiring industry, 
his legal acquirements, and his skill as an advocate, 
gradually attracted attention ; and he was invited to 
enter into partnership under highly advantageous 
circumstances, with an elder member of the bar in 
Buffiilo. Just before removing to Buffalo, in 1829, 
he took his seat in the House of Assembly, of the 
State of New York, as a representative from Erie 
County. Though he had never taken a very active 
part in politics, his vote and his sympathies were with 
the Whig party. The State was then Democratic, 
and he found himself in a helpless minority in the 
Legislature , still the testimony comes from all parties, 
that his courtesy, ability and integrity, won, to a very 
unusual degrie the respect of his associates. 

In the autumn of 1832, he was elected to a seat in 
the United States Congress. He entered that troubled 
irena in some of the most tumultuous hours of our 
national history. The great conflict respecting the 
national bank and the removal of the deposits, was 
then raging. 

His term of two years closed ; and he returned to 
his profession, whicli he pursued with increasing rep- 
utation and success. After a lapse of two years 
he again became a candidate for Congress ; was re- 
elected, and took his seat in 1837. His past expe- 
rience as a representative gave huii stiength and 
confidence. The first term of service in Congress to 
any man can be but little more than an introduction. 
He was now prepared for active duty. All his ener- 
gies were brought to bear upon the public good. Every 
measure received his impress. 

Mr. Fillmore was now a man of wide repute, and 
his popularity filled tlie State, and in the year 1847, 
he \yas elected Comptroller of the State. 



Mr. Fillmore had attained the age of forty-seven 
years. His labors at the bar, in the Legislature, in 
Congress and as Comptroller, had given him very con- 
siderable fame. The Whigs were casting about to 
find suitable candidates for President and Vice-Presi- 
dent at the approaching election. Far away, on the 
waters of tlie Rio (irande, there was a rough old 
soldier, who had fought one or two successful battles 
with the Mexicans, which had caused his name to be 
proclaimed in trumpet-tones all over the land. But 
it was necessary to associate with him on the same 
ticket some man of reputation as a statesman. . 

Under the influence of these considerations, the 
names of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore became 
the rallying-cry of the W'higs, as their candidates for 
President and Vice-Peesident. The Whig ticket was 
signally triumphant. On the 4th of March, 1849, 
Gen. Taylor was inaugurated President, and Millard 
Fillmore Vice-President, of the United States. 

On the 9th of July, 1850, President Taylor, but 
about one year and four months after his inaugura 
tion, was suddenly taken sick and died. By the Con- 
stitution, Vice-President Fillmore thus became Presi- 
dent. He appointed a very able cabinet, of which 
the illustrious Daniel Webster was Secretary of State. 

Mr. Fillmore had very serious difficulties to contend 
with, since the opposition had a majority in both 
Houses. He did everything in his power to conciliate 
the South ; but the pro-slavery party in the South felt 
the inadequacy of all measuresof transient conciliation. 
The population of the free States was so rapidly in- 
creasing over that of the slave States that it was in- 
evitable that the power of the Government sliould 
soon pass into the hands of the free States. The 
famous compromise measures were adopted under Mr. 
Fillmore's adminstration, and the Japan Expedition 
was sent out. On the 4th of March, 1853, Mr. Fill- 
more, having served one term, retired. 

In 1856, Mr. Fillmore was nominated for the Pres- 
idency by the " Know Nothing " party, but was beaten 
by Mr. Buchanan. After that Mr. Fillmore lived in 
retirement. During the terrible conflict of civil war, 
he was mostly silent. It was generally supposed tha* 
his sympathies were rather with those who were en- 
deavoring to overthrow our institutions. President 
Fillmore kept aloof from the conflict, without any 
cordial words of cheer to the one party or the other. 
He was thus forgotten by both. He lived to a ri])e 
old age, and died in Buffalo. N. Y., March 8, 1874 




<Ly 




FO UR TEEN 'J H FKESIDENT 



71 



sMiiSfiaaa^ 




t-^aa^i 






-4^ o oKI# ^'FRANKLIN PIERCE. 




,s?>- 








RANKLIN PIERCE, the 
fourteenth Pri^ident of the 
' United States, was born in 
Hillsborough, N. H., Nov. 
23, 1804. His father was a 
Revolutionary soldier, who, 
with his own strong arm, 
hewed out a home in the 
wilderness. He was a man 
of inflexible integrity; of 
strong, though uncultivated 
mind, and an uncompromis- 
ing Democrat. The mother of 
Franklin Pierce was all that a son 
could desire, — an intelligent, pru- 
dent, affectionate, Christian wom- 
an. Franklin was the si.xth of eight children. 

Franklin was a very liright and handsome boy, gen- 
erous, warm-hearted and brave. He won alike the 
love of old and young. The boys on the play ground 
loved him. His teachers loved him. The neighbors 
looked upon him with pride and affection. He was 
by instinct a gentleman; always speaking kind words, 
doing kind deeds, with a peculiar unstudied tact 
which taught him what was«greeal)le. Without de- 
veloping any precocity of genius, or any unnatural 
devotion to books, he was a good scholar; in body, 
in mind, in affections, a finely-developed boy. 

When sixteen years of age, in the year 1S20, he 
entered Bowdoin College, at Brunswick, Me He was 
one of the most jiopular young men in the college. 
The jiurity cf his moral character, the unvarying 
courtesy of his demeanor, his rank as a scholar, and 



genial nature, rendered him a universal favorite. 
There was something very peculiarly winning in his 
address, and it was evidently not in the slightest de- 
gree studied : it was the simple outgushing of his 
own magnanimous and loving nature. 

Upon graduating, in the year 1824, Franklin Pierce 
commenced the study of law in the office of Judge 
Woodbury, one of the most distinguished lawyers of 
the State, and a man of great private worth. The 
eminent social qualities of the young lawyer, his 
father's prominence as a pul)lic man, and the brilliant 
political career into which Judge Woodbury was en- 
tering, all tended to entice Mr. Pierce into the faci- 
nating yet perilous path of political life. With all 
the ardor of his nature he espoused the cause of Gen. 
Jackson for the Presidency. He commenced the 
practice of law in Hillsborough, and was soon elected 
to represent the town in the State Legislature. Here 
he served for four yeats. The last two years he was 
chosen speaker of the house by a very large vote. 

In 1833, at the age of twenty-nine, he was elected 
a member of Congress. AVithout taking an active 
part in debates, he was faithful and laborious in duty 
and ever rising in the estimation of those with whom 
he was associatad. 

In 1837, being then but thirty-three years of age, 
he was elected to the Senate of the United States; 
taking his seat just as Mr. Van Buren commenced 
his administration. He was the youngest member in 
the Senate. In the year 1834, he married Miss Jane 
Means Appleton, a lady of rare beauty and accom- 
plishments, and one admirably fitted to adorn every 
station with which her husband was honoied Of the 



72 



tRANKLTN PIERCE. 



three sons who were born to them, all now sleep with, 
their parents in the grave. 

In the year 1S38, Mr. Pierce, with growing fame 
and increasing business as a lawyer, took up his 
residence in Concord, the capital of New Hampshire. 
President Polk, upon his accession to office, appointed 
Mr. Pierce attorney-general of the United States; but 
the offer was declined, in consequence of numerous 
professional engagements at home, and the precariuos 
state of Mrs. Pierce's health. He also, about the 
same time declined the nomination for governor by the 
Democratic party. The war with Mexico called Mr. 
Pierce in the army. Receiving the appointment of 
brigadier-general, he embarked, with a portion of his 
troops, at Newport, R, I., on the 27th of May, 1847. 
He took an important part in this war, proving him- 
self a brave and true soldier. 

When Gen. Pierce reached his home in his native 
State, he was received enthusiastically by the advo- 
cates of the Mexican war, and coldly by his oppo- 
nents. He resumed the practice of his profession, 
very frequently taking an active part in political ques- 
tions, giving his cordial support to the pro-slavery 
wing of the Democratic party. The compromise 
measures met cordially with his approval; and he 
strenuously advocated the enforcement of the infa- 
mous fugitive-slave law, which so shocked the religious 
sensibilities of the North. He thus became (distin- 
guished as a "Northern man with Southern principles.'' 
The strong partisans of slavery in the South conse- 
quently regarded him as a man whom they could 
safely trust in office to carry out their [jlans. 

On the 1 2th of June, 1852, the Democratic conven- 
tion met in Baltimore to nominate a candidate for the 
Presidency. For four days they continued in session, 
;xnd in thirty-five ballotings no one had obtained a 
two-thirds vote. Not a vote thus far had been thrown 
for Gen. Pierce. Th^'u the Virginia delegation 
brought forward his name. There were fourteen 
more ballotings, during which Gen. Pierce constantly 
gained strength, until, at the forty-ninth ballot, he 
received two hundred and eighty-two votes, and all 
other candidates eleven. Gen. Winfield Scott was 
the Whig candidate. Gen. Pierce was chosen with 
great unanimity. Only four States — Vermont, Mas- 
sachusetts, Kentucky and Tennessee — cast their 
electoral votes against him Gen. Franklin Pierce 
was therefore inaugurated President of the United 
States on the 4th of March, 1853. 



His administration proved one of the most stormy our 
country had ever experienced. The controversy be 
tween slavery and freedom was then approaching its 
culminating point. It became evident that there was 
an "irrepressible conflict" between them, and that 
this Nation could not long exist " half slave and half 
free." President Pierce, during the whole of his ad- 
ministration, did every thing he could to conciliate 
the South ; but it was all in vain. The conflict every 
year grew more violent, and threats of the dissolution 
of the Union were borne to the North on eveiy South- 
ern breeze. 

Such was the condition of affairs when President 
Pierce approached the close of his four-years' term 
of office. The North had become thoroughly alien- 
ated from him. The anti-slavery sentiment, goaded 
by great outrages, had been rapidly increasing; all 
the intellectu'al ability and social worth of President 
Pierce were forgotten in deep reprehension of his ad- 
ministrative acts. The slaveholders of the South, also, 
unmindful of the fidelity with which he had advo- 
cated those measures of Government which they ap- 
proved, and perhaps, also, feeling that he had 
rendered himself so unpopular as no longer to be 
able acceptably to serve them, ungratefully dropped 
him, and nominated James Buchanan to succeed him. 

On the 4tli of March, 1857, President Pierce re- 
tired to his home in Concord. Of three children, two 
had died, and his only surviving child had been 
killed before his eyes by a railroad accident ; and his 
wife, one of the most estimable and accomplished of 
ladies, was rapidly sinking in consumption. The 
hour of dreadful gloom soon came, and he was left 
alone in the world, without wife or child. 

When the terrible Rebellion burst forth, which di- 
vided our country into two parties, and two only, Mr. 
Pierce remained steadfast in the principles which he 
had always cherished, and gave his sympathies to 
that pro-slavery party with which he had ever been 
allied. He declined to do anything, either by voice 
or pen, to strengthen the hand of the National Gov- 
ernment. He continued to reside in Concord until 
the time of his death, which occurred in October, 
1869. He was one of the most genial and social oi 
men, an honored communicant of the Episcopal 
Church, and one of the kindest of neighbors. Gen 
erous to a fault, he contributed liberally for the at 
leviation of suffering and want, and many of his towns 
people were often gladened by his material bounty 




d 




ZC^^7l^J G^i^UO 



-i^^/ypz^^^^^y^ 



I'IFTEENTH PRESIDENT. 



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AMES BUCHANAN, the fit- 
vLteciith President of the United 
States, was horn in a small 
Irontier town, at the foot of the 
eastern ridge of the Allegha- 
nies, in Franklin Co., Penn., on 
'i^-j^ the 23d of April, 1791. The ;:'lace 
where the humble cabin of his 
father sti od was called Stony 
^^ Batter. It was a wild and ro- 
mantic spot in a gorge of the moun- 
tains, with towering summits rising 
grandly all around. His father 
was a native of the north of Ireland ; 
a poor man, who had emigrated in 
1783, with little property save his 
Five jears afterwards he married 
Elizabeth Spear, the daughter of a respectable farmer, 
and, with his young bride, plunged into the wilder- 
ness, staked his claim, reared his log-hut, opened a 
clearing with his axe, and settled down there to i)er- 
form his obscure part in the drama of life. In this se- 
cluded home, where James was born, he remained 
for eight years, enjoying but few social or intellectual 
advantages. When James was eight yeais of age, his 
father removed to the village of Mercersburg, where 
his son was placed at school, and commenced a 
course of study in English, Latin and Greek. His 
progress was rapid, and at the age of fourteen, he 
entered Dickinson College, at Carlisle. Here he de- 
veloped remarkable talent, and took his stand among 
the first scholars in the institution. His application 
t.o study was intense, and yet his native powers en- 



own strong arms. 



abled him to master the most abstnise subjects wi '• 
facility. 

In the year 1809, he graduated with the highest 
honors of his clasL. He was then eighleer. years oi 
age; tall and graceful, vigorous in hcaiili, fond of 
athletic sport, an unerring shot, and enlivened with 
an e.xuberant How of animal spirits. He immediately 
commenced the study of l.uv iii tlie city of Lancaster, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1S12, when he was 
but twenty-one years '^^f age. Yei\- rapidly he rose 
in his profession, and at once took undisputed stand 
with the ablest lawyers of the State. When Iml 
twenty-si.x years of age, unaided by counsel, lie suc- 
cessfully defended before the State Senate oie of tiie 
judges of the State, who was tried uiion articles of 
impeachment. At the age of thirty it was generally 
admitted that he stood at the head of the bar; and 
tliere was no lawyer in the State who had ,1 more lu- 
crative practice. 

In 1S20, he reluctantly consented to run as a 
candidate for Congress. He was elected, and foi 
ten years he remained a member of the Lower House. 
During the vacations of Congress, he occasional! v 
tried some important case. In 1831, he retired 
altogether from the toils of his profession. ha\ing ac- 
quired an ample fortune. 

Gen. Jackson, upon his elevation toihe I'residenc/, 
ap|xjinted Mr. Buchanan minister to Kussia. '! he 
duties of his mission he performed with ai)ility,wiiich 
gave satisfaction to all ])arties. Upon his return, in 
US33, he was elected to a seat in the I'ni'ed States 
Senate. He there met, as his associates, Webster. 
Clay, A\' right and ("alhoun. He advocated tl'.e meas- 
ures nrc> posed by President Jackson, rf n.'.. ling repn- 



76 



JAMES BUCHANAN. 



sals against France, to enforce the payment of our 
claims against that country ; and defended the course 
of the President in his unprecedented and wholesale 
removal from office of those who were not the sup- 
porters of his administration. Upon this question he 
was brought into direct collision with Henry Clay. 
He also, with voice and vote, advocated expunging 
from the journal of the Senate the vote of censure 
against Gen. Jackson for removing the deposits. 
Earnestly he opposed the abolition of slavery in the 
District of Columbia, and urged the prohibition of the 
circulation of anti-slavery documents by the United 
States mails. 

As to petitions on the subject of slavery, he advo- 
cated that they should be respectfully received ; and 
that the reply should be returned, that Congress had 
no power to legislate upon the subject. '■ Congress," 
said he. "might as well undertake to interfere with 
slavery under a foreign government as in any of the 
States where it now e.xists." 

Upon Mr. Polk's accession to the Presidency, Mr. 
Buchanan became Secretary of State, and as such, 
took his share of the responsibility in the conduct of 
the Mexican War. Mr. Polk assumed that crossing 
the Nueces by the American troops into the disputed 
territory was not wrong, but for the Mexicans to cross 
the Rio Grande into that territory was a declaration 
of war. No candid man can read with pleasure the 
account of the course our Government pursued in that 
movement 

Mr. Buchanan identified himself thoroughly with 
tiie party devoted to the perpetuation and extension 
of slavery, and brought all the energies of his mind 
to bear against the VV'ilmot Proviso. He gave his 
cordial approval to the compromise measures of 1050, 
which included the fugitive-slave law, Mr. Pierce, 
upon his election to the Presidency, honored Mr. 
Buchanan with the mission to England. 

In the year 1856, a national Democratic conven- 
tion nominated Mr. Buchanan forthe Presidency. The 
political conflict vvas one of the most severe in which 
o\ir country has ever engaged. All the friends of 
slavery were on one side ; all the advocates of its re- 
striction and final abolition, on the other. Mr. Fre- 
mont, the candidate of the enemies of slavery, re- 
••eived 114 electoral votes. Mr. Buchanan received 
174, and was elected. The popular vote stood 
1,340,618, for Fremont, 1,224,750 for Buchanan. On 
March 4th. 1857, Mr. Buchanan was inaugurated. 

Mr. Buchanan was far advanced in life. Only four 
-'ears were wanting to fill up his threescore years and 
ten. His own friends, tliose with wliom he had been 
allied in political ])rinciples and action for years, were 
seeking the destruction of the Government, that they 
might rear upon the ruins of our free institutions a 
nation whose corner-stone should be human slavery. 
In this emergency, Mr. Buchanan was hopelessly be- 
wildered He could not, with his long-avowed prin- 



ciples, consistently oppose the State-rights party in 
their assumptions. As President of the United States, 
bound by his oath faithfully to administer the laws, 
he could not, without perjury of the grossest kind, 
unite with those endeavoring to overthrow the repub- 
lic. He therefore did nothing. 

The opponents of Mr. Buchanan's administration 
nominaied .Abraham Lincoln as their standard bearer 
in the next Presidential canvass. The pro-slaverv 
party declared, that if he were elected, and the con- 
trol of the Government were thus taken from their 
hands, they would secede from the Union, taking 
with them, as they retired, the National Capitol at 
Washington, and the lion's share of the territory of 
the United States. 

Mr. Buchanan's sympathy with the pro-slavery 
party was such, that he had been willing to offerthem 
far more than they had ventured to claim. All the 
South had professed to ask of the North was non- 
intervention upon the subject of slavery. Mr. Bu- 
chanan had been ready to offer them the active co- 
operation of the Government to defend and extend 
the institution. 

As the storm increased in violence, the slaveholders 
claiming the right to secede, and Mr. Buchanan avow- 
ing that Congress had no power to prevent it, one o( 
the most pitiable exhibitions of governmental im- 
becility was exhibited the world has ever seen. He 
declared that Congress had no power to enforce its 
laws in any State which had withdrawn, or which 
was attempting to withdraw from tlie Union. This 
was not the doctrine of Andrew Jackson, when, with 
his hand upon his sword hilt, he exclaimed. " The 
Union must and shall be preserved!" 

South Carolina seceded in December, i860; nearly 
three months before the inauguration of President 
Lincoln. Mr. Buchanan looked on in listless despair. 
The rebel flag was raised in Charleston: Fort Sumpter 
was besieged ; our forts, navy-yards and arsenals 
were seized; our depots of military stores were plun- 
dered ; and our custom-houses and post-offices were 
appropriated by the rebels. 

The energy of the rebels, and the imbecility of oui 
Executive, were alike marvelous. The Nation looked 
on in agony, waiting for the slow weeks to glide away, 
and close the administration, so terrible in its weak- 
ness At length the long-looked-for hour of deliver- 
ance came, when Abraham Lincoln was to receive the 
scepter. 

The administration of President Buchanan was 
certainly the most calamitous our country has ex- 
perienced. His best friends cannot recall it with 
pleasure. And still more deplorable it is for his fame, 
that in that dreadful conflict which rolled its billows 
of flame and blood over our whole land, no word came 
from his lips to indicate his wish that our country's 
banner should triumph over the flag of the rebellion 
He died at his Wheniland retreat, June i. 1868. 




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SIXTEENTH FRES/DENT. 




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,, , ABRAHAM > m}^h(m < LINCOLN. > "^ 



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BRAHAM LINCOLN, the 
sixteenth President of the 
United States, was born in 
Hardin Co., Ky., Feb. 12, 
1809. About the year 1780, a 
man by the name of Abraham 
•^ Lincohi left Virginia with his 
family and moved into the tlien 
wilds of Kentucky. Only two years 
after this emigration, still a young 
man, while working one day in a 
field, was stealthily approached Ijy 
an Indian and shot dead. His widow 
was left in extreme poverty with five 
little children, three boys and two 
girls. Thomas, the youngest of the 
boys, was four years of age at his 
father's death. This Tiiomas was 
the father of Abraham Lincoln, the 
' President of the United States 

whose name must henceforth fo'ever lie enrolled 
with the must prominent in the annals of our world. 
Of course no record has been kept of the life 
of one so lowly as Thomas Lincoln. He was among 
the poorest of the poor. His home was a wretched 
log-cabin ; his food the coarsest and the meanest. 
Education he had none; he could never either read 
or write. As soon as he was able to do anything for 
himself, he was compelled to leave the cabin of his 
starving mother, and push out into the world, a friend- 
.ess, wandering boy, seeking work. He hired him- 
self out, and thus s])ent the whole of his youth as a 
?.iborer in the fields of others. 

When twenty-eight years of age he built a log- 
1 ai.iin of his own, and married Nancy Hanks, the 
daughter of another family of poor Kentucky emi- 
grants, who had also come from Virginia. Their 
second child was .\braliam Lincoln, the subject of 
this sketch. The mother of Abraham was a noble 
woman, gentle, loving, pensive, created to adorn 
a palace, doomed to toil and pine, and die in a hovel. 
" All that I am, or hope to be," e.xclaims the grate- 
ful son "I owe to my angel-mother. 

When he was eight years of age, his father sold his 



cabin and small t'arm, and moved to Indiana Whei - 
two years later his mother died. 

Abraham soon became the sciibe ol the uneducated 
community around him. He could not have liad a 
better school than this to teach him to |)ut thoughts 
into words. He also became an eager reader. The 
books he could obtain were few ; but these he 'read 
and re-read until they were almost conuuilti'*^ tc 
memory. 

As the years rolled on, the lot of this lowly fauiil) 
was the usual lot of humanity. Thi-re were joys aiu, 
griefs, weddings and funerals. Abraham's sisti > 
Sarah, to whom he was tenderly attached, was nun 
ried when a child of but fourteen years of age, anc 
soon died. The family was gradually scattered. Mr 
Thomas Lincoln sold out his squatter's claim in 1830 
and emigrated to Macon Co., 111. 

'\braham Lincoln was then twenty-one years of age. 
With vigorous hands he aided his father in reaiiny 
another log-cabin. Abraham worked diligently at this 
until he saw the family comfortably settled, and theii 
small lot of enclosed prairie planted with corn, when 
he announced to his father his intention to leave 
home, and to go out into the world and seek his for- 
tune. Little did he or his friends imagine how bril- 
liant that fortune was to be. He saw the value o! 
education and was intensely earnest to improve lii-, 
mind to the utmost of his power. He saw the luin 
which ardent spirits were causing, and became 
strictly temperate; refusing to allow a drop of intoxi- 
cating liquor to pass his lips. .And he had read iii 
Cod's word, " Thou shall not take the name of ih,- 
Lord thy God in vain;" and a profane exiuessitui he 
was never heard to utter. Religion he revered. His 
morals were pure, and he was uncontaminated bv a 
single vice. 

Voung Abraham worked for a time as :, hired laborei 
among the fanners. Then he went to .Springfield, 
where he was employed in 1 uilding a huge flat-boat 
In this he took a herd of swiiie, flo.itcd them dowr. 
Ihe Sangamon to the Illinois, and thence by the ?vlis. 
sissippi to New Orleans. Whatever Abraham lin- 
coln undertook, he performed so faithfully as to give 
great satisfaction to his eratiloyers. In this adven 



8o 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 



tare his employers were so well pleased, that upon 
his return they placed a store and mill under his care. 
In 1832, at the outbreak of the Black Hawk war, he 
enlisted and was chosen captain of a company. He 
returned to Sangamon County, and although only 23 
years of age, was a candidate for the Legislature, but 
was defeated. He soon after received from Andrew 
Jackson the appointment of Postmaster of New Salem, 
His only post-office was his hat. All the letters he 
received he carried there ready to deliver to those 
he chanced to meet. He studied surveying, and soon 
made this his business. In 1834 he again became a 
candidate for the Legislature, and was elected Mr. 
Stuart, of Springfield, advised him to study law. He 
walked from New Salem to Springfield, borrowed of 
Mr. Stuart a load of books, carried them back and 
began his legal studies. When the Legislature as- 
sembled he trudged on foot with his pack on his back 
ane hundred miles to Vandalia, then the capital. In 
1836 he was re-elected to the Legislature. Here it 
was he first met Stephen A. Douglas. In 1839 he re- 
moved to Springfield and began the practice of law. 
His success with the jury was so great that he was 
coon engaged in almost every noted case in the circuit. 
In 1854 the great discussion began between Mr. 
Lincoln and Mr. Douglas, on the slavery question. 
In the organization of the Republican party in Illinois, 
in 1856, he took an active part, and at once became' 
one. of the leaders in that party. Mr. Lincoln's 
speeches in opposition to Senator Douglas in the con- 
test in 1858 for a seat in the Senate, form a most 
notable part of his history. The issue was on the 
;lavery question, and he took the broad ground of 
.he Declaration of Independence, that all men are 
-reated equal. Mr. Lincoln was defeated in this con- 
test, but won a far higher prize. 

The great Republican Convention met at Chicago 
on the i6th of June, i860. The delegates and 
strangers who crowded the city amounted to twenty- 
five thousand. An immense building called "The 
Wigwam," was reared to accommodate the Conven- 
tion. There were eleven candidates for whom votes 
were thrown. William H. Seward, a man whose fame 
as a statesman had long filled the land, was the most 
nrominent. It was generally supposed he would be 
!he nominee. Abraham Lincoln, however, received 
the nomination on the third ballot. Little did he then 
dream of the weary years of toil and care, and the 
bloody death, to which that nomination doomed him: 
and aslittle did he dream that he was tc render services 
to his country, which would fi.x upon him the eyes of 
the whole civilized world, and which would give him 
a place in the affections of his countrymen, second 
f-nly, if second, to that of Washington. 

Election day came and Mr. Lincoln received 180 
electoral votes out of 203 cast, and was, therefore, 
constitutionally elected President of the United States! 
The tirade of abuse that was poured upon this good 



and merciful man, especially by the slaveholders, was 
greater than upon any other man ever elected to this 
high position. In February, 1861, Mr. Lincoln started 
for Washington, stopping in all the large cities on his 
way making speeches. 'I'he wiiole journey was frought 
with much danger. Many of the Southern States had 
already seceded, and several attempts at assassination 
were afterwards brought to light. A gang in Balti- 
more had arranged, upon his arrival to "get up a row," 
and m the confusion to make sure of his death with 
revolvers and hand-grenades. A detective unravelled 
the plot. A secret and special train was provided to 
take him from HarrisL'urg, through Baltimore, at ar 
unexpected hour of the night. The train started at 
half-past ten ; and to prevent any possible communi- 
cation on the part ot the Secessionists with theirCon- 
federate gang in Baltimore, as soon as the train haa 
started the telegraph-wires were cut. Mr. Lincoln 
reached Washington in safety and was inaugurated 
although great an.xiety was felt by all loyal people 
In the selection of his cabinet Mr. Lincoln gave 
to Mr Seward the Department of State, and to other 
prominent opponents before the convention he gave 
important positions. 

During no other administration have the duties 
devolving upon the President been so manifold, and 
the responsibilities so great, as those which fell to 
the lot of President Lincoln. Knowing this, and 
feeling his own weakness and inability to meet, and in 
his own strength to cope with, the difficulties, he 
learned early to seek Divine wisdom and guidance in 
determining his plans, and Divine comfort in all his 
trials, bo-h personal and national. Contrary to his 
own estimate of himself. Mr. Lincoln was one of the 
most courageous of men. He went directly into the 
rebel capital just as the retreating foe was leaving 
with no guard but a few sailors. >rom the time he 
had left Springfield, in 1861, however, plans had been 
made for his assassination.and he at last fell a victim 
to one of them. April 14, 1865, he, with Gen. Grant, 
was urgently mvited to attend Fords' Theater It 
was announced that they would be present. Gen 
Grant, however, left the citv. President Lincoln, feell 
ing, with his characteristic kindliness of heart, that 
It would be a disappointment if he should fail them 
very reluctantly consented to go. M'hile listening to 
the play an actor by the name of John AVilkes Booth 
entered the bo.x where the President and family were 
seated, and fired a bullet into his brains. He died the 



next morning at seven o'clock. 

Never before, in the history of the world was a nation 
plunged into such deep grief by the death of its ruler. 
Strong men met in the streets and wept in speechless 
anguish. It is not too much to say that a nation was 
in tears. His was a life which will fiily become a 
iiiodel. His name as the savior of his 'country w=M 
live with that of Washington's, its father; his country- 
men being unable to decide whi<K is ti.e ereater. 




-^:^^^^:^t5Z;>-r^ 



SEVENTEENTH PRESIDENT. 



83 




NDREW JOHNSON, seven- 
teenth President of the United 
States. The early Hie of 
Andrew Johnson contains but 
the record of poverty, destitu- 
tion and friendlessness. He 
was born December 29, 180S, 
in Raleigh, N. C. His parents, 
belonging to tlie class of the 
"poor whites " of the South, were 
in such circumstances, that they 
cou'd not onffr ;.'ei\ the slight- 
est advantages of education upon 
their child. When Andrew was five 
years of age, his father accidentally 
iost his life while herorically endeavoring to save a 
friend from drowning, ^''fiiil teri /ears of age, Andrew 
was a ragged boy abour the streets, supported by the 
labor of his mother, who obtained her living with 
her own hands. 

He then, having never attended a school one day, 
and being unable either to read or write, was ap- 
prenticed to a tailor in his native town. A gentleman 
was in the habit of going to the tailor's shop occasion- 
ally, and reading to the boys at work there. He often 
read from the speeches of distinguished British states- 
men. Andrew, who was endowed with a mind of more 
than ordinary native ability, became much interested 
in these speeches ; his ainbition was roused, and he 
was inspired with a strong desire to learn to read. 

He accordingly applied himself to the alphabet, and 
with the assistance of some of his fellow-workmen, 
/earned his letters. He then called upon the gentle- 
man to borrow the book of speeches. The owner, 



pleased with his zeal, not only gave him the boos 
but assisted him in learning to combine the letters 
into words. Under such difficulties he pressed 3.. 
ward laboriously, spending usually ten or twelve hours 
at work in the shoji, and then robbing himself of rest 
and recreatio;' to devote such time as he could to 
reading. 

He went to Tennessee in 1826, and located at 
Greenville, where he married a young lady who pvjs 
sessed some education. Under her instructions lif 
learned to write and cipher. He became prominent 
in the village debating society, and a favorite with 
the students of Greenville College. In 1828, he or 
ganized a working man's party, which elected him 
alderman, and in 1830 elected him mayor, which 
position he held three years. 

He now began to take a lively interest in political 
affairs; identifying himself with the working-classes, 
to which he belonged. In 1835, he was elected a 
member of the House of Representatives of Tennes- 
see. He was then just twenty-seven years of age. 
He became a very active rueniber of the legislature 
gave his adhesion to the Democratic party, and in 
1840 "stumped the State," advocating Martin Van 
Buren's claims to the Presidency, in opiX)sition to thos^. 
of Gen. Harrison. In this campaign he acquired much 
readiness as a speaker, and extended and increased 
his reputation. 

In 1 84 1, he was elected State Senator; in 1843, he 
was elected a member of Congress, and by successive 
elections, held that important post for ten years. In 
1853, he was elected Governor of Tennessee, and 
was re-elected in 1855. In all these resjionsible posi- 
tions, he discharged his duties witji distinguished abi. 



84 



ANDREW JOHNSON. 



ity, and proved himself the warm friend of the work- 
ing classes. In 1857, Mr. Johnson was elected 
U^nited States Senator. 

Years before, in 1S45, he had warmly advocated 
the annexation of Texas, stating however, as his 
reason, that he thought this annexation would prob- 
(ibly prove " to be the gateway out of which the sable 
sons of Africa are to pass from bondage to freedom, 
(ind become merged in a population congenial to 
themselves." In 1850, he also supported the com- 
promise measures, the two essential features of which 
were, that the white people of the Territories should 
be permitted to decide for themselves whether they 
would enslave the colored people or not, and that 
the *'ree States of the North should return to the 
South persons who attempted to escape from slavery. 

Mr. Johnson was neverashamedof his lowly origin: 
on the contrary, he often took pride in avowing that 
he owed his distinction to his own exertions. "Sir," 
said he on the floor of the Senate, " I do not forget 
that I am a mechanic ; neither do I forget that Adam 
was a tailor and sewed fig-leaves, and that our Sav- 
ior was the son of a carpenter." 

In the Charleston- Baltimore convention of i8bo, ne 
jRras the choice of the Tennessee Democrats for the 
"Presidency. In 1861, when the purpose of the South- 
2ni Democracy became apparent, he took a decided 
stand in favor of the Union, and held that " slavery 
must be held subordinate to the Union at whatever 
cost." He returned to Tennessee, and repeatedly 
Imperiled his own life to protect the Unionists of 
Tennesee. Tennessee having seceded from the 
Union, President Lincoln, on March 4th, 1862, ap- 
pointed him Military Governor of the State, and he 
established the most stringent military rule. His 
numerous proclamations attracted wide attention. In 

1864, he was elected Vice-President of the United 
States, and upon the death of Mr. Lincoln, April 15, 

1865, became President. In a speech two days later 
he said, " The American people must be taught, if 
they do not already feel, that treason is a crime and 
must be cunished ; that the Government will not 
always beai with its enemies ; that it is strong not 
only to protect, but to punish. * * The people 
must understand that it (treason) is the blackest of 
crimes, and will surely be punished." Yet his whole 
administration, the history of which is so well known, 
was in utter iiKonsistency with, and the most viol;nt 



opposition to, the principles laid down in tnat speech. 

In his loose policy of reconstruction and general 
amnesty, he was opposed by Congress; and he char- 
acterized Congress as a new rebellion, and lawlessly 
defied it, in everything possible, to the utmost. In 
the beginning of 1868, on account of "high crimes 
and misdemeanors," the principal of which was the 
removal of Secretary Stanton, in violation of the Ten- 
ure of Office Act, articles of impeachment were pre- 
ferred against him, and the trial began March 23. 

It was very tedious, continuing for nearly three 
months. A test article of the impeachment was at 
length submitted to the court for its action. It was 
certain that as the court voted upon that article so 
would it vote upon all. Thirty-four voices pronounced 
the President guilty. As a two-thirds vote was neces- 
sary to his condemnation, he was pronounced ac- 
quitted, notwithstanding the great majority against 
him. The change of one vote from the not guilty 
side would have sustained the impeachment. 

The President, for the remainder of his term, was 
but little regarded. He continued, though impotent!--, 
his conflict with Congress. His own party did not 
think it expedient to renominate him for the Presi- 
dency. The Nation rallied, with enthusiasm unpar- 
alleled since the daysof Washington, around the name 
of Gen. Grant. Andrew Johnson was forgotten. 
The bullet of the assassin introduced him to the 
President's chair. Notwithstanding this, never was 
there presented to a man a better opportunity to im- 
mortalize his name, and to win the gratitude of a 
nation. He failed utterly. He retired to his home 
in Greenville, Tenn., taking no very active part in 
politics until 1875. On Jan. 26, after an exciting 
struggle, he was chosen by the Legislature of Ten- 
nessee, United States Senator in the forty-fourth Con- 
gress, and took his seat in that body, at the special 
session convened by President Grant, on the sth of 
March. On the 27th of July, 1875, the ex-President 
made a visit to his daughter's home, near Carter 
Station, Tenn. When he started on his journey, he was 
apparently in his usual vigorous health, but on reach- 
ing the residence of his child the following day, was 
stricken with paralysis, rendering him unconscious. 
He rallied occasionally, but finally passed away at 
2 A.M., July 31, aged sixty-seven years. His fun- 
eral was attended at Geenville, on the 3d of August, 
with every demonstration of respect 




/-a 



EIGHTEENTH PRESIDENT. 





LYSSES S. GRANT, the 
eighteenth President of the 
If United States, was born on 
the 2gth of April, 1822, of 
Christian parents, in a humble 
home, at Point Pleasant, on the 
banks of the Ohio. Shortly after 
his father moved to George- 
town, Brown Co., O. In this re- 
mote frontier hamlet, Ulysses 
received a common-school edu- 
cation. At the age of seven- 
teen, in the year 1S39, he entered 
the Military Academy at West 
Point. Here he was regarded as a 
solid, sensible young man of fair abilities, and of 
sturdy, honest character. He took resi)ectable rank 
as a scholar. In June, 1843, he graduated, about the 
middle in his class, and was sent as lieutenant of in- 
fantry to one of the distant military posts in the Mis- 
souri Territory. Two years he past in these dreary 
solitudes, watching the vagabond and exasperating 
Indians. 

The war with Mexico came. Lieut. Grant was 
sent with his regiment to Corpus Christi. His first 
battle was at Palo Alto. There was no chance here 
for the exhibition of either skill or heroism, nor at 
Resacade la Palma, his second battle. At the battle 
of Monterey, his third engagement, it is said that 
he performed a signal service of daring and skillful 
horsemanship. His brigade had exhausted its am- 
munition. A messenger must be sent for more, along 
a route exposed to the bullets of the foe. Lieut. 
Grant, adopting an expedient learned of the Ir,dians, 
grasped the mane of his horse, and hanging u]X)n one 
side of the anin\Tl, ran the gauntlet in entire safety. 



From Monterey he was sent, with the fourth infantry, 
to aid Gen. Scott, at the siege of Vera Cruz. In 
preparation for the march to the city of Mexico, he 
was appointed quartermaster of his regiment. At the 
battle of Molino del Rey, he was promoted to a 
first lieutenancy, and was brevetted captain at Cha- 
pultepec. 

At the close of the Mexican War, Capt. Grant re- 
turned witli his regiment to New York, and was again 
sent to one of the military posts on the frontier. The 
discovery of gold in California causing an immense 
tide of emigration to flow to the Pacific shores, Capt. 
Grant was sent with a battalion to Fort Dallas, in 
Oregon, for the protection of the interests of the im- 
migrants. Life was wearisome in those wilds. Capt. 
Grant resigned his commission and returned to the 
States; and having married, entered upon the cultiva- 
tion of a small farm near St. Louis, Mo. He had but 
little skill as a farmer. Finding his toil not re- 
munerative, he turned to mercantile life, entering into 
the leather business, with a younger brother, at Ga- 
lena, 111. This was in the year i860. As the tidings 
of the rebels firing on Fort Sumpter reached the ears 
of Capt. Grant in his counting-room, he said, — 
"Uncle Sam has educated me for the army: though 
I have served him through one war, I do not feel that 
I have yet repaid the debt. I am still ready to discharge 
my obligations. I shall therefore liuckle on my tword 
and see Uncle Sam through this war too." 

He went into the streets, raised a company of vol- 
unteers, and led them as their captain to Springfield, 
the capital of the State, where their services were 
offered to Gov. Yates. The Governor, impressed by 
the zeal and straightforward executive ability of Capt. 
Grant, gave him a desk in his office, to assist in the 
volunteer organization that was being formed in the 
State in behalf of the Governrn^nt. On the i?''' o( 



88 



'ULYSSES S. GRANT. 



June, 1 86 1, Capt. Grant received a commission as 
Colonel of the Twenty-first Regiment of Illinois Vol- 
unteers. His merits as a West Point graduate, who 
had served for 15 years in the regular array, were such 
that he was soon promoted to the rank of Brigadier- 
General and was placed in command at Cairo. The 
rebels raised their banner at Paducah, near the mouth 
of the Tennessee River. Scarcely had its folds ap- 
peared in the breeze ere Gen. Grant was there. The 
rebels fled. Their banner fell, and the star and 
stripes were unfurled in its stead. 

He entered the service with great determination 
and immediately began active duty. This was the be- 
ginning, and until the surrender of Lee at Richmond 
he was ever pushing the enemy with great vigor and 
effectiveness. At Belmont, a few days later, he sur- 
prised and routed the rebels, then at Fort Henry 
won another victory. Then came the brilliant fight 
at Fort Donelson. The nation was electrified by the 
victory, and the brave leader of the boys in blue was 
immediately made a Major-General, and the military 
listrict of Tennessee was assigned to him. 

Like all great captains, Gen. Grant knew well how 
to secure the results of victory. He immediately 
Dushed on to the enemies' lines. Then came the 
terrible battles of Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, and the 
siege of Vicksburg, where Gen. Pemberton made an 
unconditional surrender of the city with over thirty 
thousand men and one-hundred and seventy-two can- 
non. The fall of Vicksburg was by far the most 
severe blow which the rebels had thus far encountered, 
and opened up the Mississippi from Cairo to the Gulf. 

Gen. Grant was next ordered to co-operate with 
Gen. Banks in a movement upon Texas, and pro- 
ceeded to New Orleans, where he was thiown from 
h;s horse, and received severe injuries, from which he 
was laid up for months. He then rushed to the aid 
of Gens. Rosecrans and Thomas at Chattanooga, and 
by a wonderful series of strategic and technical meas- 
ures put the Union Army infighting condition. Then 
followed the bloody battles at Chattanooga, Lookout 
Mountain and Missionary Ridge, in which the rebels 
were routed with great loss. This won for him un- 
bounded praise in the North. On the 4th of Febru- 
ary, 1864, Congress revived the grade of lieutenant- 
general, and the rank was conferred on Gen. Grant. 
He repaired to Washington to receive his credentials 
and enter upon ibf duties of his new office 



Gen. Grant decided as soon as he took charge ol 
ihe army to concentrate the widely-dispersed National 
troops for an attack upon Richmond, the nominal 
capital of the Rebellion, and endeavor there to de- 
stroy the rebel armies which would be promptly as- 
sembled from all quarte:s for its defence. The whole 
continent seemed to tremble under the tramp of these 
majestic armies, rushing to the decisive battle field. 
Steamers were crowded with troops. Railway trains 
were burdened with closely packed thousands. His 
plans were comprehensive and involved a series of 
campaigns, which were executed with remarkable en- 
ergy and ability, and were consummated at the sur- 
render of Lee, April 9, 1865. 

The war was ended. The Union was saved. The 
almost unanimous voice of the Nation declared Gen. 
Grant to be the most prominent instrument in its sal- 
vation. The eminent services he had thus rendered 
the country brouglit him conspicuously forward as the 
Republican candidate for the Presidential chair. 

At the Republican Convention held at Chicago. 
May 21, 186S, he was unanimously nominated for the 
Presidency, and at the autumn election received a 
majority of the popular vote, and 214 out of 294 
electoral votes. 

The National Convention of the Republican party 
which met at Philadelphia on the 5th of June, 1872, 
placed Gen. Grant in nomination for a second temi 
by a unanimous vote. The selection was emphati- 
cally indorsed by the people five months later, 292 
electoral votes being cast for him. 

Soon after the close of his second term. Gen. Grant 
started upon his famous trip around the world. He 
visited almost every country of the civilized world, 
and was everywhere received with such ovations 
and demonstrations of respect and honor, private 
as well as public and official, as were never before 
bestowed upon any citizen of the United States. 

He was the most prominent candidate before the 
Republican National Convention in 1880 for a re- 
nomination for President. He went to New York and 
embarked in the brokerage business under the firm 
nameof Grant & Ward. The latter proved a villain, 
wrecked Grant's fortune, and for larceny was sent to 
the penitentiary. The General was attacked with 
cancer in the throat, but suffered in his stoic-like 
manner, never complaining. He was re-instated as 
General of the Army and retired by Congress. The 
cancer soon finished its deadly work, and July 23, 
1885, the nation went in nnourning over the death of 
the illustrious General, 




6^ ^- ^oA' 
t 



u 



NINETEENTH PRESIDENT. 



91 





" '^ feOf 





UTHERFORD B. HAYES, 
the nineteenth President of 
ej'the United States, was born in 
Delaware, O., Oct. 4, 1822, al- 
most three months after the 
"^ death of his father, Rutherford 
Hayes. His ancestry on both 
the paternal and maternal sides, 
was of the most honorable char- 
acter. It can be traced, it is said, 
as far back as 1280, when Hayes and 
Rutherford were two Scottish chief- 
tains, fighting side by side with 
Baliol, William Wallace and Rol:)ert 
Bruce. Both families belonged to the 
nobility, owned e.\tensive estates, 
and had a large following. Misfor- 
.ane cvvKaking the family, George Hayes left Scot- 
.and in 16S0, and settled in Windsor, Conn. His son 
George wai. born in Windsor, and remained there 
during his lile. Daniel Hayes, son of the latter, mar- 
ried Sarah L.;e, and lived from the time of his mar- 
riage until h:s death in Simsbury, Conn. Ezekiel, 
son of Daniel, was born in T724, and was a manufac- 
turerof scythes at Bradford, Conn. Rutherford Hayes, 
son of Ezekiel audgrandfatherof President Hayes, was 
born in New Haven, in August, 1756. He was a fanner, 
blacksmith and tavern-keejier. He emigrated to 
Vermont at an unknown date, settling in Brattleboro, 
where he established a hotel. Here his son Ruth- 
erford Hayes the father of President Hayes, was 



born. He was married, in September, 1813, to Sophia 
Birchard, of Wilmington, Vt., whose ancestors emi- 
grated thither from Connecticut, they having been 
among the wealthiest and best famlies of Norwich. 
Her ancestry on the male side are traced back to 
1635, to Jolin Birchard, one of the principal founders 
of Norwich. Both of her grandfathers were soldiers 
ill the Revolutionary War. 

The father of President Hayes was an industrious 
frugal and opened-hearted man. He was of a me- 
chanical turn, and could mend a plow, knit a stock- 
ing, or do almost anything else that he choose to 
undertake. He was a member of the Church, active 
in all the benevolent enterprises of the town, and con- 
ducted his business on Christian principles. After 
the close of the war of 181 2, for reasons inexplicable 
to his neighbors, he resolved to emigrate to Ohio. 

The journey from Vermont to Ohio in that day 
when there were no canals, steamers, not railways, 
was a very serious affair. A tour of inspection was 
first made, occupying four months. Mr. Hayes deter 
mined to move to Delaware, where the family arrived 
in 1817. He died July 22, 1822, a victim of malarial 
fever, less than three months before the birth of the 
son, of whom we now write. Mrs. Hayes, in her sore be- 
reavement, found the support she so much needed in 
her brother Sardis, who had been a member of the 
household from the day of its departure from Ver- 
mont, and in an orphan girl whom she had adopted 
some time before as an act of charity. 

Mrs. Hayes at this period was very weak, and the 



9* 



RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 



subject of this sketch was so feeble at birth that he 
was not expected to live beyond a month or two at 
most. As the months went by he grew weaker and 
weaker, so that the neighbors were in the habit of in- 
quiring from time to time " if Mrs. Hayes' baby died 
last night." On one occasion a neighbor, wiio was on 
(fimiliar terms with the family, after alluding to the 
l)oy's big head, and the mother's assiduous care of 
him, said in a bantering way, " That's right! Stick to 
him. You have got him along so far, and I shouldn't 
wonder if he would really come to something yet." 

" You need not laugh," said Mrs. Hayes. " You 
ivait and see. You can't tell but I shall make him 
President of the United States yet." The boy lived, 
in spite of the universal predictions of his speedy 
death; and when, in 1825, his older brother was 
drowned, he became, if possible, still dearer to his 
mother. 

The boy was seven years old before he went to 
school. His education, however, was not neglected. 
He probably learned as much from his mother and 
jister as he would have done at school. His si^orts 
were almost wholly within doors, his playmates being 
his sister and her associates. These circumstances 
tended, no doulit, to foster that gentleness of dispo- 
sition, and that delicate consideration for the feelings 
of others, which are marked traits of his character. 

His uncle Sardis Birchard took the deepest interest 
j'n his education; and as the boy's health had im~ 
•proved, and he was making good progress in his 
(studies, he proix)sed to send him to college. His pre- 
paration commenced with a tutor at home; bit he 
was afterwards sent for one year to a professor in the 
Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Conn. He en- 
tered Kenyon College in 1838, at the age of sixteen, 
and was graduated at the head of his class in 1842. 

Immediately after his graduation he began the 
study of law in the office of Thomas Sparrow, Esq., 
in Columbus. Finding his opportunities for study in 
Columbus somewhat limited, he determined to enter 
the Law School at Cambridge, Mass., where he re- 
mained two years. 

In 1 845, after graduatmg at the Law School, lie was 
admitted to the bar at Marietta, Ohio, and shortly 
afterward went into practice as an attorney-at-law 
with Ralph P. Buckland, of Fremont. Here he re- 
mained three years, acquiring but a limited practice, 
and apparently unambitious of distinction in his pro- 
fession. 

Vi 1 849 he moved to Cincmnati, where his ambi- 
tion found a new stimulus. For several years, how- 
ever, his progress was slow. Two events, occurring at 
this period, had a powerful influence u[)on his subse- 
quent 'ife. One of these was his marrage with Miss 
Lucy Ware Wel)b, daughter of Dr. James Webb, of 
Chilicothe; the other was liis introduction to the Cin- 
cinnati Literary Club, a body embracing among its 
members such men as '^hief Justice Salmon P^ChasCj 



Gen. John Pope, Gov. Edward F. Noyes, and many 
others hardly less distinguished in after life. The 
marriage was a fortunate one in every respect, as 
everybody knows. Not one of all the wives of our 
Presidents was more universally admired, reverenced 
and beloved than was Mrs. Hayes, and no one did 
more than she to reflect honor upon American woman 
hood. The Literary Cluu brought Mr. Hayes into 
constant association with young men of high char- 
acter and noble aims, and lured him to display t'.ie 
qualities so long hidden by his bashfulne^s and 
modesty. 

In 1856 he was nominated to the office of Judg2 of 
the Court of Common Pleas; but he declined to ar.. 
cept the nomination. Two years later, the office d 
city solicitor becoming vacant, the City Council 
elected him for the unexpired term. 

In 1 86 1, when the Rebellion broke out, he was at 
tlie zenith of his professional li5,. His rank at the 
bar was among the the first. But the news of the 
attack on Fort Sumpter found him eager to take -id 
arms for the defense of his country. 

His military record was bright and illustrious. In 
October, 186 1, he was made Lieutenant-Colonel, and 
in August, 1862, promoted Colonel of the 79th Ohio 
regiment, but he refused to leave his old comrades 
and go among strangers. Subsequently, however, he 
was made Colonel of his old regiment. At the Ijattle 
of South Mountain he received a wound, and while 
faint and bleeding displayed courage end fortitude 
that won admiration from all. 

Col. Hayes was detached from his regiment, after 
his recovery, to act as Brigadier-General, and [jlaced 
in command of the celebrated Kanawha division, 
and for gallant and meritorious services in the battles 
of Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek, he was 
promoted Brigadier-General. He was also brevetted 
Major-General, "forgallant and distinguished services 
during the campaigns of 1864, in West Virginia." In 
the course of his arduous services, four horses were 
shot from under him, and he was wounded four times 

In 1864, Gen. Hayes was elected to Congress, from 
the Second Oliio District, whicli had long been Dem- 
ocratic. He was not present during tlie campaign, 
and after his election was importuned to resign his 
commission in the army ; but he finally declared, " I 
shall never come to Washington until I can come by 
the way of Richmond." He was re-elected in 1866. 

In 1867, Gen Hayes was elected Governor of Oliio, 
over Hon. Allen G. Thunnan, a populai Democrat. 
In 1869 was re-eiected over George H. Pendleton. 
He was elected Governor for the third term in 1875. 

In 1876 he was the standard beater of the Repub- 
lican Party in the Presidential contest, and after a 
hard long contest was chosen President, and was in 
augiirated Monday, March 5, 1875. He served his 
full term, not, hcwever, with satisfaction to his party, 
but his admiiristration was an average or\5 



/^%a^° j^«fc 




''^■■ 




L 





^ /:/ 



•^^^^c^,^<rf 



TWENTIETH FTiESIDENT. 



95 








;g*^ig«'«is^^;g*^;;3^^!g<i>«iS^^:iH^Sis*^:s- 



I liPii ^, i^Rf III;®, i 




AMES A. GARFIELD, twen- 
tieth President of the United 
States, was born Nov. 19, 
I S3 1, in tlie woods of Orange, 
Cuyahoga Co., O His par- 
ents were Abram and Ehza 
(Ballou) Garfield, both of New 
England ancestry and from fami- 
lies well known in the early his- 
plS tory of that section of our coun- 
try, but had moved to the Western 
Reserve, in Ohio, early in its settle- 
ment. 

The house in which James A. was 
born was not unlike the houses of 
poor Ohio farmers of that day. It 
, tic about 20x30 feet, built of logs, with the spaces be- 
MZ&i\ the logs filled with clay. His father was a 
jiard working farmer, and he soon had his fields 
jleared, an orchard planted, and a log barn built. 
The household comprised the father and mother and 
heir four children — Mehetabel, Thomas, Mary and 
'ames. In May, 1823^ the father, from a cold con- 
. /acted in helping to put out a forest fire, died. At 
(liis time James was about eighteen months old, and 
Thomas about ten years old. No one, perhaps, can 
(ell how mucli James was indebted to his biother's 
toil and self-sacrifice during the twenty years suc- 
ceeding his father's death, but undoubtedly very 
much. He now lives in Michigan, and the two sis- 
itrs live in Solon, O., near their birthplace. 

The early educational advantages young Garfield 
enjoyed were very limited, yet he made the most of 
them. He labored at farm work for others, did car- 
penter work, chopped wood, or did anything that 
would bring in a few dollars to aid his widowed 
mother in he' struggles to keep the little faniily to- 



gether. Nor was Gen. Garfield ever ashamed of his 
origin, and he never forgot the friends of his strug- 
gling childhood, youth and manhood, neither did they 
ever forget him. When in the highest seats of honor, 
the humblest fiiend of his boyhood was as kindly 
greeted as ever. Tlie poorest laborer was sure of the 
sympathy of one who had known all the bitterness 
of want and the sweetness of bread earned by the 
sweat of the brow. He was ever the simple, plain, 
modest gentleman. 

The highest ambition of young Garfield until hi 
was about sixteen years old was to be a captain of 
a vessel on Lake Erie. He was anxious to go aboard 
a vessel, which his mother strongly opposed. She 
finally consented to his going to Cleveland, with the 
understanding, however, that he should try to obtair 
some other kind of employment. He walked all the 
way to Cleveland. This was his first visit to the city. 
After making many applications for work, and trying 
to get aboard a lake vessel, and not meeting with 
success, he engaged as a driver for his cousin, Amos 
Letcher, on the Oliio & Pennsylvania Canal. He re- 
mained at this work but a short time when he went 
home, and attended the seminary at Chester for 
about three years, when he entered Hiram and the 
Eclectic Institute, teaching a few terms of school in 
the meantime, and doing other work. This school 
was started by the Disciples of Christ in 1850, of 
which church he was then a member. He became 
janitor and bell-ringer in order to help pay his way 
He then became both teacher and pupil. He soon 
" exhausted Hiram " and needed more ; hence, in the 
fall of 1854, he entered Williams College, from which 
he graduated in 1856, taking one of the highest h*,- 
ors of his class. He afterwards returned to Hiram 
College as its President. As above slated, he early 
united with the Christian or Diciples Church at 
Hiram, and was ever after a devoted, zealous mem- 
ber, often preaching in its pulpit and places where 
he happened to be. Dr. Noah Porter, President of 
Yale College, says of him in reference to his religion; 



9« 



JAMES A. GARFIELD. 



"President Garfield was more than a man of 
strong moral and religious convictions. His whole 
history, from boyhood to the last, shows that duty to 
man and to God, and devotion to Christ and life and 
faith and spiritual commission were controlling springs 
of his being, and to a more than usual degree. \\\ 
my j-idgmeni there is no more interesting feature of 
liis character than his loyal allegiance to the body of 
Christians in which he was trained, and the fervent 
sympathy which he ever showed in their Christian 
communion. Not many of the few 'wise and mighty 
and noble who are called' show a similar loyalty to 
the less stately and cultured Christian communions 
in which they have been reared. Too often it is true 
that as they step upward in social and political sig- 
nificance they step upward from one degree to 
another in some of the many types of fashionable 
Christianity. President Garfield adhered to the 
church of his mother, the church in which he was 
trained, and in which he served as a pillar and an 
evangelist, and yet with the largest and most unsec- 
'.arian charity for all 'who loveour Lord in sincerity.'" 

Mr. Garfield was united in marriage with Miss 
Lucretia Rudolph, Nov. ii, 1858, who proved herself 
worthy as the wife of one whom all the world loved and 
mourned. To them were born seven children, five of 
whom are still living, four boys and one girl. 

Mr. Garfield made his first political speeches in 1856, 
jn Hiram and the neighboring villages, and three 
years later he began to speak at county mass-meet- 
ings, and became the favorite speaker wherever he 
was. During this year he was elected to the Ohio 
Senate. He also began to study law at Cleveland, 
and in i86r was admitted to the bar. The great 
Rebellion broke out in the early part of this year, 
and Mr. Garfield at once resolved to fight as he had 
talked, and enlisted to defend the old flag. He re- 
ceived his commission as Lieut. -Colonel of the Forty- 
second Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Aug. 
14, 1861. He was immediately put into active ser- 
vice, and before he had ever seen a gun fired in action, 
was placed in command of four regiments of infantry 
and eight companies of cavalry, charged with the 
work of driving out of his native State the officer 
'Humphrey Marshall) reputed to be the ablest of 
those, not educated to war whom Kentucky had given 
to the Rebellion. This work was bravely and speed- 
ily accomplished, although against great odds. Pres- 
ident Lincoln, on his success commissioned him 
Brigadier- General, Jan. 10, 1862; and as "he had 
been the youngest man in the Ohio Senate two years 
before, so now he was the youngest General in the 
army." He was with Gen. Buell's army at Shiloh, 
in itsoperations around Corinth and its march through 
.Alabama. He was then detailed as a memberof the 
General Court-Martial for the trial of Gen. Fitz-John 
Porter. He was then ordered to report to Gen. Rose- 
crans, and was assigned to the "Chief of Staff." 

The military history of Gen. Garfield closed with 



his brilliant services at Chickamauga, where he won 
the stars of the Major-General. 

Without an effort on his part Gey Garfield was 
elected to Congress in the fall of 1862 from the 
Nineteenth District of Ohio. This section of Ohio 
had been represented in Congiess for sixty year* 
mainly by two men — Elisha \Vhittlesey and Joshui, 
R. Giddings. It was not without a struggle that he 
resigned his place in the army. At the time he en- 
tered Congress he was the youngest member in thai 
body. Therii he remained by successive re- 
elections until he was elected President in 1880. 
Of his labors in Congress Senator Hoar says : " Sinct 
the year 1864 you cannot think of a question whicl. 
has been debated in Congress, or discussed before !» 
tribunel of the American people, in regard to whici 
you will not find, if you wish instruction, the argu- 
ment on one side stated, in almost every instance 
better than by anybody else, in some speech made in 
the House of Representatives or on the hustings by 
Mr. Garfield." 

Uixju Jan. 14, 1880, Gen. Garfield was elected to 
the U. S. Senate, and on the eighth of June, of llie 
same year, was nominated as the candidate of his 
party for President at the great Chicago Convention. 
He was elected in the following November, and on 
March 4, 1881, was inaugurated. Probably no ad- 
ministration ever opened its existence under brighter 
auspices tlian that of President Garfield, and every 
day it grew in favor with the people, and by the first 
of July he, had completed all the initiatory and pre- 
liminary work of his administration and was prepar- 
ing to leave the city to meet his friends at Williams 
College. While on his way and at the depot, in com- 
pany with Secretary Blaine, a man stepped behind 
him, drew a revolver, and fired directly at his back. 
The President tottered and fell, and as he did so the 
assassin fired a second shot, the bullet cutting the 
left coat sleeve of his victim, but in.licting no further 
injury. It has been very truthfully said that this was 
" the shot that was heard round the worl4 " Never 
before in the history of the Nation had anything oc- 
curred which so nearly froze the blood of the peop!" 
for the moment, as this avi'ful deed. He was smit- 
ten on the brightest, gladdest day of all his life, and 
was at the summit of his power and hope. For eighty 
days, all during the hot months of July and August, 
he lingered and suffered. He, however, remained 
master of himself till the last, and by his magnificent 
bearing was teaching the country and the world the 
noblest of human lessons — how to live grandly in the 
very clutch of death. Great in life, he was surpass- 
ingly great in death. He passed serenely away Sept. 
19, 1883, at Elberon, N. J , on the very bank of the 
ocean, where he had been taken shortly previous. The 
world wept at his death, as it never had done on the 
death of any other man who had ever lived upon it. 
The murderer was duly tried, found guilty and exe- 
cuted, in one year after he committ'>d the foul deed. 



TIVENTY.FIRST PRESIDENT. 



99 












I 



HESTER A. ARTHUR, 

5 twenty-first Presi'^.^iu of the 
^^United States was born in 
Franklin Cour ty, Vermont, on 
thefiftiiofOc'obcr, 1830, and is 
the oldest of a family of two 
sons and five daughters. His 
father was the Rev. Dr. William 
Arthur, a Baptist d_rgyman, who 
emigrated to tb.s country from 
the county Ant.'im, Ireland, in 
his 18th year, and died in 1S75, in 
Newtonville, neai Albany, after a 
long and successful ministry- 
Young Arthur was educated at 
Union College, S( henectady, where 
he excelled in all his studies. Af- 
ter his graduation he taught school 
in Vermont for two years, and at 
the expiration cf that time came to 
New York, with $500 in his jx)cket, 
and catered the oflfice of ex-Judge 
E. D. Culver as student. After 
1 being admitted to the bar he formed 
a parti\ership with his intimate friend and room-mate, 
Henry D. Gardiner, with the intention of practicing 
in the West, and for three months they roamed about 
in the Western States in search of an eligible site, 
but in the end returned to New York, where they 
hung out their shingle, and entered upon a success^ 
ful career almost from the start. General Arthur 
soon afterward mftxpcd the daughter of Lieutenant 



Herndon, of the United States Navy, who was lost at 
sea- Congress voted a gold medal to his widow in 
recognition of the bravery he displayed on that occa- 
sion. Mrs. Arthur died shortly before Mr. Arthur s 
nomuiation to the Vice Presidency, leaving two 
children. 

Gen. Arthur obtained considerable legal celebrity 
in his first great case, the famous Lemnion suit, 
brought to recover possession of eight slaves who had 
been declared free by Judge Paine, of the Superior 
Court of New York City. It was in 1852 that Jon- 
athan Lemmon, of Virginia, went to New York with 
his slaves, intending to ship them to Texas, when 
they were discovered and freed. The Judge decided 
that they could not be held by the owner under the 
Fugitive Slave Law. A howl of rage went up from 
the South, and the Virginia Legislature authorized the 
Attorney General of that State to assist in an appeal. 
Wm. M. Evarts and Chester A. Arthur were employed 
to represent the People, and they won their case, 
which then went to the Supreme Court of the United 
States. Charles O'Conor here espoused the cause 
of the slave-holders, but b.e too was beaten by Messrs 
Evarts and Arthur, and a long step was taken toward 
the emancipation of the black race. 

Another great service was rendered by General 
Arthur in the same cause in 1856. Lizzie Jennings, 
a respectable colored woman, was put off a Fourth 
Avenue car with violence after she had paid her fare. 
General Arthur sued on her behalf, and secured a 
verdict of $500 damages. The next day the compa- 
ny issued an order to admit colored persons to ride 
on their cars, and the other car companies quickly 



CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 



followed their example. Before that the Sixth Ave- 
nue Company ran a few special cars for colored per- 
sons and the other lines refused to let them ride at all. 

General x^rthur was a delegate to the Convention 
at Saratoga that founded the Repubhcan party. 
Previous to the war he was Judge-Advocate of the 
Second Brigade of the State of New York, and Gov- 
ernor Morgan, of that State, appointed him Engineer- 
in-Chief of his staff. In 1861, he was made Inspec- 
tor General, and soon afterward became Quartermas- 
ter-General. In each of these offices he rendered 
great service to the Government during the war. At 
the end of Governor Morgan's term he resumed the 
practice of the law, forming a partnership with Mr. 
Ransom, and then Mr. Phelps, the District Attorney 
of New York, was added to the firm. The legal prac- 
tice of this well-known firm was very large and lucra- 
tive, each of the gentlemen composing it were able 
lawyers, and possessed a splendid local reputation, if 
not indeed one of national extent. 

He always took a leading part in State and city 
politics. He was appointed Collector of the Port of 
New York by President Grant, Nov. 21 1872, to suc- 
ceed Thomas Murphy, and held the office until July, 
20, 1878, when he was succeeded by Collector Merritt. 

Mr. Arthur was nominated on the Presidential 
ticket, with Gen. James A. Garfield, at the famous 
National Republican Convention held at Chicago in 
June, 1880. This was perhaps the greatest political 
convention that ever assembled on thecontinent. It 
was composed of the 'wading politicians of the Re- 
publican party, all able men, and each stood firm and 
fought vigorously and with signal tenacity for their 
respective candidates that were before the conven- 
tion for the nomination. Finally Gen. Garfield re- 
ceived the nomination for President and Gen. Arthur 
for Vice-President. The campaign which followed 
was one of the most animated known in the history of 
our country. Gen. Hancock, the standard-bearer of 
the Democratic party, was a popular man, and his 
party made a valiant fight for his election. 

Finally the election came and the country's choice 
.vas Garfield and Arthur. They were inaugurated 
vVlarch 4, 1881, as President and Vice-President. 
A. few months only had passed ere the newly chosen 
President was the victim of the assassin's bullet. Then 
came terrible weeks of suffering, — those moments of 
anxious suspense, when the hearts of all civilized na- 



tions were throbbing in unison, longing for the re- 
covery of the noble, the good President. The remark- 
able patience that he manifested during those hours 
and weeks, and even months, of the most terrible suf- 
fering man has often been called upon to endure, was 
seemingly more than human. It was certainly God- 
like. During all this period of deei)est anxiety Mr, 
Arthur's every move was watched, and be it said to his 
credit that his every action displayed only an earnest 
desire that the suffering Garfield might recover, to 
serve the remainder of the term he had so auspi- 
ciously begun. Not a selfish feeling was manifested 
in deed or look of this man, even though the most 
honored position in the world ivas at any moment 
likely to fall to him. 

At last God in his mercy relieved President Gar- 
field from further suffering, and the world, as nevei 
before in its history over the death of any othei 
man, wept at his bier. Then it became the duty ol 
the Vice President to assume the responsibilities ol 
the high office, and he took the oath in New York. 
Sept. 20, i88r. The position was an embarrassing 
one to him, made doubly so from the facts that all 
eyes were on him, anxious to know what he would do, 
what policy he would pursue, and who he would se- 
lect as advisers. The duties of the office had been 
greatly neglected during the President's long illness, 
and many important measures were to be immediately 
decided by him ; and still farther to embarrass him he 
did not fail to realize under what circumstances he 
became President, and knew the feelings of many on 
this point. Under these trying circumstances President 
Arthur took the reins of the Government in his ow.. 
hands ; and, as embarrassing as were the condition of 
affair? he happily surprised the nation, acting so 
wisely hat but few criticisea Viis administration. 
He served the nation well and faithfully, until the 
close of his administration, March 4, 1885, and was 
a popular candidate before his party for a second 
term. His name was ably presented before the con 
vention at Chicago, and was received with great 
favor, and doubtless but for the personal popularity 
of one of the opposing candidates, he would have 
been selected as the standard-bearer of his party 
for another campaign. He retired to private life car- 
rying with him the best wishes of the American peo- 
ple, whom he had served in a manner satisfactory 
to them and with credit to himself. 




-"^v , 



yi^i:rL£yr 




A 



TWENTY-SECOND PRESIDENT. 



103 










t0©er 









TEPHEN GROVER CLEVE- 
LAND, the twenty-second Pres- 
ident of the United States, was 
born in 1837, in the obscure 
town of Caldwell, Essex Co., 
N. J., and in a little two-and-a- 
f-story white house which is still 
standing, characteristically to mark 
the humble birth-place of one of 
America's great men in striking con- 
trast with the Old V/orld, where all 
men high in office must be high in 
origin and born in the cradle of 
wealth. Wlien the subject of this 
sketch was three years of age, his 
father, who was a Presbyterian min- 
ister, with a large family and a small salary, moved, 
by way of the Hudson River and Erie Canal, to 
Fayetteville, in search of an increased income and a 
larger field of work. Fayetteville was then the most 
straggling of country villages, about five miles from 
Pompey Hill, where Governor Seymour was born. 

At the last mentioned place young Grover com- 
menced going to school in the "good, old-fashioned 
way," and presumably distinguished himself after the 
manner of all village boys, in doing the things he 
ought not to do. Such is the distinguishing trait of 
all geniuses and independent thinkers. When he 
arrived at the age of 14 years, he had outgrown the 
capacity of the village school and expressed a most 



emphatic desire to be sent to an academy. To this 
his father decidedly objected. Academies in those 
days cost money; besides, his father wanted him to 
become self-supporting by the quickest possible 
means, and this at that time in Fayetteville seemed 
to be a position in a country store, where liis father 
and the large family on his hands had considerable 
influence. Grover was to be paid $50 for his services 
the first year, and if he proved trustworthy he was to 
receive $roo the second year. Here the lad com- 
menced his career as salesman, and in two years he 
had earned so good a reputation for trustworthiness 
that his employers desired to retain him for an in- 
definite length of time. Otherwise he did not ex- 
hibit as yet any particular " flashes of genius " or 
eccentricities of talent. He was simply a good boy. 
But instead of remaining with this firm in Fayette- 
ville, he went with the family in their removal to 
Clinton, where he had an opportunity of attending a 
high school. Here he industriously pursued his 
studies until the family removed with him to a point 
on Black River known as the " Holland Patent," a 
village of 500 or 600 people, 15 miles north of Utica, 
N. Y. At this place his father died, after preaching 
but three Sundays. This event broke up the family, 
and Grover set out for New York City to accept, at a 
small salary, the position of " under-teacher " in an 
asylum for the lilind. He taught faithfully for two 
years, and although he obtained a good reputation in 
this capacity, he concluded that teaching was not his 



lOd 



5. GROVE R CLEVELAND. 



calling for life, and, reversing the traditional order, 
he left the city tc seek his fcr'n'^". •n-t^-r' o' n,r'i--r 
to a city. He first tnougnt ot Cleveland, Utiio, as 
there was some charm in that name for him; but 
before proceeding to that place he went to Buffalo to 
isk the advice of his uncle, Lewis F. Allan, a noted 
stock- breeder of that place. The latter did not 
speak enthusiastically. "What is it you want to do, 
my boy?" he asked. "Well, sir, I want to study 
lav," was the reply, "Good gracious!" remarked 
th« old gentleman ; " do you, indeed .' What ever put 
that into your head? How much money have you 
got?" "Well, sir, to tell the truth, I haven't got 
any." 

After a long consultation, his uncle offered him a 
place temporarily as assistant herd-keeper, at $50 a 
year, while lie could "look around." One day soon 
ifterward he boldly walked into the office of Rogers, 
Bowen & Rogers, of Buffalo, and told Ihem what he 
wanted. A number of young men were already en- 
gaged in the office, but Grover's persistency won, a id 
he was finally permitted to come as an office boy and 
Have the use of the law library, for the nominal sum 
of $3 or $4 a week. Out of this he had to pay for 
his board and washing. The walk to and from his 
uncle's was a long and rugged one; and, although 
the first winter was a memorably severe one, his 
shoes were out of repair and his overcoat — he had 
none — yet he was nevertheless prompt and regular. 
On the first day of his service here, his senior em- 
ployer threw down a copy of Blackstone before him 
with a bang that made the dust fly, saying "That's 
where they all begin." A titter ran around the little 
circle of clerks and students, as they thought that 
vras enough to scare young Grover out of his plans ; 
Out indue time he mastered that cumbersome volume. 
Then, as ever afterward, however, Mr. Cleveland 
exhibited a talent for e.xeculiveness rather than for 
chasing principles through all their metaphysical 
possibilities. " Let us quit talking and go and do 
t," was practically his motto. 

The first public office to which Mr. Cleveland was 
ejected was that of Sheriff of Erie Co., N. Y , in 
which Bu.falo is situated; and in such capacity it tell 
to his duty to inflict capital pi''.!shment upon two 
cainiinals. In t88i he was elected Mayor of the 
City of Buffalo, o'l the Democratic ticket, with es- 
pecial rsference to the bringing about certain reforms 



in the administration of the municipal affairs of that 
-'y- Tp ti.,:j. -ifR^e q^c Tvoll as that of Sheriff, his 
periormarjce ot duty has generally been considered 
fair, with possibly a few exceptions which were fer- 
reted oiit and magnified during the last Presidential 
campaign. As a specimen of his plain language in 
a veto message, we quote from one vetoing an ininui 
tous street-cleaning contract: "This is a time foi 
plain speech, and my objection to your action shall 
be plainly stated. I regard it as the culmination of 
a mos bare-faced, impudent and shameless scheme 
to betray the interests of the people and to worsj 
than squander the people's money." The New York 
Sun afterward very highly commended Mr. Cleve- 
land's administration as Mayor of Buffalo, and there- 
upon recommended him for Governor of the Enijiir^ 
State. To the latter office he was elected in 18S2, 
and his administration cf the affairs of State was 
generally satisfactory. The mistakes he made, if 
any, were made very public throughout the nation 
after he was nominated for President of the United 
States. For this high offi'^e he was nominated July 
II, 1884, by the National Democratic Convention a? 
Chicago, when other competitors were Thomas F. 
Bayard, Roswell P. Flower, Thomas A. Hendricks, 
Benjamin F. Butler, Allen G. Thurman, etc.: and he 
was elected by the people, by a majority of about a 
thousand, over the brilliant and long-tried Repub- 
lican statesman, James G. Blaine. President Cleve- 
land resigned his office as Governor of New York in 
January, 1885, in order to prepare for his duties as 
the Chief Executive of the United States, in whii^h 
cajiacity his term commenced at noon on the 4th of 
March, 1885. For his Cabinet officers he selected 
the following gentlemen: For Secretary of State, 
Thomas F. Bayard, of Delaware ; Secretary of the 
Treasury, D.miel Manning, of New York ; Secretary 
of War, William C. Endicott, of Massachuse'ts ; 
Secretary of the Navy, William C. Whitney, of New 
York; Secretary of the Interior, L. Q. C. Lamar, cf 
Mississippi; Postmaster-General, William F. Vilas, 
of Wisconsin ; Attorney-General, A. H. Garland, of 
Arkansas. 

The silver question precipitated a controversy be- 
tweei^ those who were in favor of the continuance of 
silver coinage and those who were opposed, Mr. 
Clevela:;d answering for the latter, even before his 
inauguration. 



,0 



i?Ffl?r*^i 




/W^^d^ t^^a^^^^^i-<-'t^'-^ 




TWENTY-THIRD PRESIDENT. 



207 






Qon^am^in ^^k^m&on, W 



U^)::^:^ 



..o♦o.■^§^X1®'••»♦«•"— 




iKNJAMIN HARRISON, the 
twenty-tliiid President, is 
the descendant of one of the 
historical families of this 
country. The head of the 
family was a Major General 
Harrison, one of Oliver 
Cromwell's trusted follow- 
ers and fighters. In the zenith of Crom- 
well's power it became the duty of this 
Harrison to participate in the trial of 
Charles I, and Afterward tc sign the 
de:<th warr.ant of the king. He subse- 
quently paid for this with his life, Iieing 
hung Oct. 13, 16C0. His descendants 
came to America, and the next of the 
family that appears in history is Benja- 
r:in Harrison, of Virginia, great-grand- 
father of the subject of this sketch, and 
after whom he was named. Benjamin Harrison 
was a member of the Continental Congress during 
the years i 774-5-6, and was one of the original 
signers of the Declaration of Independence. He 
wa three times elected Governor of Virginia, 
Gen William Henry Harrison, the son of the 



distinguished patriot of the Revolution, after a suo 
cessful career as a soldier during the War of 1812,, 
and with a clean record as Governor of the Nortli- 
western Territory, was elected President of the 
Uniteil States in 1840. His oaraer was cut short 
by death within one month fifter liis inruguration. 
President Harrison wa," born at Noi"'. B^^iid. 
Hamilton Co., Ohio, Aug. ",0, 1853 His life up to 
tlie time of his graduation by the Miami University, 
at Oxford, Ohio, was the uneventful one of a coun- 
try lad of a family of small means. His father was 
able to give him a good education, and nothing 
more. He became engaged while at college to th:; 
daughter of Dr. Scott, Principal of a female schoo 
at Oxford. After graduating he determined to en- 
ter upon the study of the law. He went tc Cin 
cinnati and then read law for two years. At tht 
expiration of that time young Harrison received tb . 
only inheritance of his life; his au.nt dying left iiia 
a lot valued at $800. He regarded this legacy as s 
fortune, and decided to get married at once, <ak3 
this money and go to some Eastern town an ' be-- 
gin the practice of law. He sold his lot, and :v;th 
the money in his pocket, he started out witii his 
young wife to fight for a place in tht> world- fie 



108 



BENJAMIN HARRIS0N4 



decided to go to Indianapolis, which was even at 
that time a town of promise. He met with slig'ot 
encouragement at first, making scarcely anj-thing 
the first year. He worlied diligently, applying him- 
self closely to his calling, built up an extensive 
practice and took a leading rank in the legal pro- 
i'ession. He is the father of two children. 

In 1860 Mr. Harrison was nominated for the 
position of Supreme Court Reporter, and tiien be- 
gan his experience as a stump speakei He can- 
vassed the State thoroughly, and was elected by a 
handsome majority. In 1862 he raised the 17th 
Indiana Infantry, and was chosen its Colonel. His 
regiment was composed of the rawest of material, 
out Col. Harrison employed all his time at first 
mastering military tactics and drilling his men, 
when he therefore came to move toward the East 
with Sherman his regiment was one of the best 
drilled and organized in the army. At Resaca he 
ospecially distinguished himself, and for his bravery 
at Peachtree Creek he was made a Brigadier Gen- 
eral, Gen. Hooker speaking of him in the most 
■iomplimentary terms. 

During the absence of Gen. Harrison in the field 
he Supreme Court declared the office of the Su- 
preme Court Reporter vacant, and another person 
was elected to the position. From the time of leav- 
ing Indiana with his regiment until the fall oi 1864 
he had taken no leave of absence, but having been 
nominated that year for the same office, he got a 
thirty-day leave of absence, and during that time 
made a brilliant canvass of the State, and was elected 
for another term. He then started to rejoin Sher- 
ffian, but on the way was stricken down with scarlet 
;ever, and after a most trying siege made his way 
to the front in time to participate in the closing 
iccidents of the war. 

In 1868 Gen. Harrison declined r. re-election as 
reporter, and resumed the practice of law. In 1876 
iie was a candidate for Governor. Although de- 
" ieated, the brilliant campaign he lEiade won ior him 
a National reputation, and he was much sought, es- 
pecial.y in the East, to make speeches. In 1880, 
as usual, he took an active part m the campaign, 
and was elected to the United States Senate. Here 
lie set-ved six years, and i^as known, as one oi the 
ibiest men, best lawyers wad strongest debaters in 



that body. With the expiration of his Senatorial 
term he returned to the practice of his profession, 
becoming the head of one of the strongest firms in 
the State. 

The political campaign of 1888 was one of the 
most memorable in the history of our country. The 
convention which assembled in Chicago in June ana 
named Mr. Harrison as the chief standard bearer 
of the Republican party, was great in evei-y jiartic- 
ular, and on this account, and the attitude it as- 
sumed upon the vital questions of the day, chief 
among which was the tariff, awoke a deep interest 
in the campaign throughout the Nation. Shortly 
after the nomination delegations began to visit Mr. 
Harrison at Indianapolis, his home. This move- 
ment became popular, and from all sections of the 
country societies, clubs and delegations journeyed 
thither to paj' their respects to the distinguished 
statesman. The popularity of these was greatly 
increased on account of the remarkable speeches 
made by Mr. Harrison. He spoke daily all Un-ough 
the summer and autumn to these visiting delega- 
tions, and so varied, masterly and eloquent were 
his speeches that they at once placed him in the 
foremost rank of American orators and statesmen. 

On account of his eloquence as a speaker and hi? 
power as a debater, he was called upon at an un- 
commonly early age to take part in the discussion 
of the great questions that then began tj agitate 
the country. He was an uncompromising ant: 
slavery man, and was matched against some of t-e 
most eminent Democratic speakers of his Stato: 
No man who felt the touch of his blade der'red tc 
be pitted with him again. With all his e'oq-'ence 
as an orator ho never spoke for oratoricaV effect, 
but his words alwaj^s went like bullets to the mark 
lie is purely American in his ideas and is a splec 
did type of the American statesman. Gifted wit'a 
quick perception, a logical mind and a ready tongue, 
he is one of the most distinguished impromptu 
speakers in the Nation. Many of these speeches 
sparkled with the rarest of eloquence and contained 
arguments of greatest weight. Many of his terse 
statements have alrcadj- become aphorisms. Origi- 
nal in tliought precise ia logic, terse In statement, 
yet withal faultless in eloquence, he is recognized as 
the sound statesman and brill Ian orator c tu^ day 



c-^ 





='r:t(s) 



MONTGOMERY AND BOND COUNTIES, 



ILLINOIS. 



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•«i INTRODUCT^ORY.iK 



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V HE time has arrived when it 
becomes the duty of the 
people of this county to jier- 
petuate the names of tiieir 
pioneers, lo furnish a record 
of their early settlement, 
and relate the story of their 
progress. The civilization of our 
day, the enlightenment o! the age 
and the duty that men of the pres- 
ent time owe to their ancestors, to 
themselves and to their posterity, 
demand that a record of their lives 
and deeds should be made. In bio- 
graphical history is found a power 
to instruct man by precedent, to 
enliven the mental faculties, and 
to waft down the river of time a 
safe vessel in which the names and actions of tlie 
people who contributed to raise this country from its 
primitive state may be preserved. Surely and rapidly 
the great and aged men, who in their prime entered 
the wilderness and claimed the virgin soil as their 
heritage, are passing to tlieir graves. The number re- 
maining who can relate the incidents of tlie first days 
3f settlement is becoming small indeed, so that an 
actual necessity exists for tlie collection and |)reser- 
vation of events without delay, before all the early 
settlers are cut down by the scythe of Time, 

To l)e forgotten has hcnn the great dread of mankind 
from remotest ages. All will be forgotten soon enough, 
in spite of their best works and the most e.irnest 
efforts of their friends to perserve the memory of 
their lives. The means employed to prevent oblivi(jn 
and to perpetuate their memory has been in propor- 
tion to the amount of intelligence they possessed. 
Th ; pyramids of Egypt were built to perpetuate the 
names and deeds of their great rulers. ~ The exhu- 
mations made by the archeologists of Kgyi)t from 
buried 'Men-. phis indicate a desire of ihpse people 



to perpetuate the memory of their achievements 
The erection of the great obelisks were for th.e same 
purpose. Coming down to a later period, we find the 
Greeks and Romans erecting mausoleums and monu- 
ments, and carving out statues to chronicle their 
great acliievements and carry them down the ages. 
It is also evident that the Mound-builders, in piling 
up their gieat mounds of earth, had but this idea — 
to leave so iiething to show that they had lived. All 
t'.iese works, though many of them costly in the e.x- 
treme, give Init a faint idea of the lives and charac- 
ters of those whose memory they were intended to 
perjietuate, and scarcely anything of the masses of 
the i)eople tiiat then lived. The great pyramids and 
some of the obelisks remain objects only of curiosity; 
the mausoleums, monuments and statues are crum- 
bling into dust. 

It was left to modern ages to establish an intelli- 
gent, undecaying, immutable method of perpetuating 
a full history — ^immutable in that it is almost un- 
limited in extent and perpetual in its action; and 
this is through the art of printing. 

To the present generation, however, we are in- 
debted for the introduction of the admirable system 
of local biography. By this system every man, thougl 
he has not achieved what the world calls greatness, 
his the means to perpetuate his life, his history, 
ihrougli the coming ages. 

The scythe of Time cuts down all ; nothing of the 
physical man is left. The monument wliich his chil- 
dren or friends may erect to his memory in tlie ceme- 
tery will crumble into dust and pass away; but iiis 
life, his achievements, the work he has accom]jIished, 
which otlierwise w'ould be forgotten, is perpetuated 
by a record of this kind. 

To preserve the lineaments of our companions we 
engiave their portraits, for the same reason we col- 
lect the attainable facts of their history. Nor do we 
think it necessary, as we speak only tiuth of them, to 
wait until they are dead, or until those who know 
them are gone: to do this we are ashamed only to 
pubhsh to the world llie history of those whose li\'e'-' 
are unwc'-thy of public record. 




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bK\\ IS 11. TllOM 
) usefulness .ind 
, of character anc 



EWIS II. THOMAS. As an example of the 
)rominenee to which men 
d determination may attain, 
it is but necessary to chronicle the life of Lewis 
II. Thomas, one of the representative a^ricultnrists 
and stock-raisers of IJois D'Arc Township, Mont- 
gomery C'luuitv. lie belongs to a highly cultnred 
and intellectual family, whose members all possessed 
superior intelligence and became distinguished 
in the different callings in which they engaged. 
Born in (ireene Connty, 111., May 24, 1827, he 
is the son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Isley) Thomas, 
natives respectively of Soutli Carolina and Tenn- 
essee. W^hen a boy, the father went with his 
parents to Kentucky, and later went to Mad- 
ison County, 111., where he married Miss P>liza- 
betli Isley. In 1818, he removed from there to 
(ireene County, III., and liought (Tovernment 
land, paying therefor $I.2.j per acre. He was one 
of tlie first settlers of that vicinity and built the 
first log cabin north of Macoupin Creek. 

The original of this notice was reared to man's 
estate in his native county, amid scenes of [)ioneer 
life, and he was early inured to hard labor. His 
primary education was received in the snl)scriptii)ii 
schools of Oreeue County, and tliis was afterward 
supplemented by a course in Carrollton Academy. 
Since then he has been a great reader and observer 
and is well posted on all the current topics of the 
day. In the spring of 1851 he came to Montgimi- 
cry Country, having previously entered from the 
Government a large tract of land in what is now 
Bois D'Arc Townslui), and he lirst resided in a 



little board shanty. He liegan at once improving 
and developing the farm and later erected a sub- 
stantial frame house. The soil was rich and pro- 
ductive, and he being energetic and enterprising, 
everything prospered under his hands. The frame 
bnilding was replaced by a handsome brick struc- 
ture, but this was destroyed by fire, and in 1888 
his |)res(;nt handsome brick residence was erected. 
Heading in the Prairie Farmer of the celebrated 
hedge fence then raised by Prof. Turner and others, 
he c<jnceived the idea of fencing his farm with the 
same. The hedge was then known as "Osage 
hedge," but it subsequently received the name of 
'•Bpis D'Arc," through our subject, and the town- 
shi|) afterward acquired the name through the 
hedge fence and was named Bois D'Arc Township 
by our sulijcct. He has his entire farm fenced 
with this hedge. 

Mr. Thomas owns one of the finest, farms in the 
State, consisting of nine hundred and seventy- 
four acres, and he aho owns seven hundred and 
twenty acres elsewhere in the townshi|); tiesides 
forty-two town lots in Kmporia, Kan., and one- 
fifth interest in thirty-four hundred acres near 
Warren, Blinn. He is a self-made man and all 
his accumulations are the result of energy 
and industry intelligently applied. In candy- 
ing on his very extensive farming enterprises 
he has not lost sight of tlw stock-i'aising in- 
dustry and raises a high grade of Hereford cattle, 
and a superior grade of Norman horses, Shropshire 
and Oxford Down sheep, and Poland-China, Berk- 
shii'c, Chester White anil Victory hogs. He has a 



120 



PORTRAIT AND BjrXJRAPHICAL RECOR». 



good grade of roadster horses. All his farming 
operations are conducted in a progressive and supe- 
rior way, as is very quickly seen when one glances 
over his possessions. In his political affilia- 
tions lie is a Democrat and was elected .Supervisor 
of Bois D'Arc Township Ij}' that party. He has 
served as Township Treasurer of schools for 
twenty-six years. He is an active worker in the 
Bois D'Arc Baptist Sunday-school and for four- 
teen years in succession the annual Sunday-school 
picnic has been held in his beautiful grove. He 
was one of the founders of the church and has al- 
waj-s been liberal in his contributions to its sup- 
port. 

During the long years lie has spent in this 
county, Mr. Thomas lias seen the countiy bloom 
and blossom like the rose, and has taken a deep 
interest in its progress and development. In 18.')fl 
he received the gold medal from the Illinois Agri- 
cultural Society for having the largest amount of 
well-set and cultiv.ited hedge on one farm, this 
being the lirst and only gold medal offered that 
year by tiiat society. In the same year he received 
the silver medal given for one thousand rods of 
the best hedge fence in tlie State, this being given 
by the Illinois State Agricultural Society. In 
18.58, he received the gold medal for the best and 
greatest variety of cultivated timber in a grove 
in the State, given by the same society. ! 

Mr. Thomas and liis line farm have .actiuircd a 
State reiiutation and well they merit it. He is 
known far and wide for his hospitality, genial i 
good-nature, and his great generosity, and his in- 
telligence, enterprise and many estimable qualities 
have gained for him a popularity not derived 
from any factitious circumstance, but a si)ontan- 
eous and permanent tribute to his merit. For a 
number of years he was engaged in surveying and 
continued this for many years in tlie northern 
portion of Montgomery County, locating and sur- 
veying all the roads in Bois D'Arc Township as 
well as surveying many school sites, a work for 
which he was well qualilied. 

The marriage of Mr. Tliomas united him with 
Miss Sarah Ann, daughter of Isliam and Sarah 
(Vaughn) Linder. She was a lady of noble char- 
acter, and her death, which occurred February 27, 



1887, was a heavy bereavement to her husband 
and children. Of the latter there are six, as 
follows: Eitta L., now tlie wife of Edward Kend- 
rick, of Buffalo, N. Y.; John I., William IL. Mary 
1j., Samuel and Minerva C. 

(3n October 8. 1889, Mr. Thomas was married to 
Agnes E. Ball, daughter of Richard M. and Maria 
(Evans) Ball, who were natives of Wales. Mrs. 
Thomas was burn in Brecknockshire, Wales, Feb- 
ruary 21, 1851. Slie came to America with her par- 
ents when she was four years of age. They located in 
Yirden, 111., at which place she received her public- 
school training. She was for three years a student 
at Normal rniversity. Normal, 111., and was grad- 
uated from that institution at the head of her 
class in 1877. She taught in the public schools 
for sixteen years, the Inst seven of her work in 
that line being done in the Washington Schocil, Chi- 
cago. She saw that Chicago was a growing city 
and in 1888 purchased a lot in Lakeside, a suburb 
of Chicago. It is a section of an ellipse three hun- 
dred and forty-five feet frontand is but two blocks 
from the famous Sheridan Road, which is the boul- 
evard from Chicago to Ft. Sheridan. Its market 
value is now three hundred per cent, of its cost. 
Religiously, she is conneclod with the Methodist 
Church and is liberal in its suiiport. 

Mrs. Tliomas is the youngest of a family of 
fourteen children, ten of whom are still living. 
Tliey are as follows: Frederick, a machinist of 
S[>ringfield, Mo., who has served a nuinlier of terms 
as President of the School Board and is identified 
with all the iniblic interests of Springfield; Mrs. 
Arabella Lloyd, of Thomasville, III.; William E., 
who died in London, England, in 18!) I ; Thom.as, 
a retired farmer of Giiaid, 111., who served three 
years in the army; Richard, a blacksmith of 
Yirden, III., and an active worker in the cau.se of 
temperance, who has served a number of terms as 
a member of the Town Hoard and one term as 
Supervisor of his township, JNIaria, who died in 
AVales in 1852; Mary, wife of Robert Brooks, of 
Kane, 111.; Francis, wife of A. .1. Witt, of A'irdcn, 
111.; Ann, wife of Calvin W. Tuunell, who died 
near Yirden in 1872; John, a banker of l''r\rmers- 
ville, who in a public ca[iacity has been Director 
of Schools, Supervisor of his township and has 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



121 



settled more dead iiie]i'.s affairs th.-iii any citizen 
of Macoupin County; .Tames, a tvvin bi'otlier of 
Ileniy, wlio died in Viiden in 185G; lleniy, a 
prominent farmer and stoel<-raiser near (iirard; 
and George, a retired farmer near (iirard, wlio lias 
been Treasurer of the .State Grange for nearly 
twenty years. 

The members of the Ball family are ardent Re- 
publicans. The family is noted for its clearness 
of ])erccption, its keenness of insight, its largness of 
heart and its soundness of judgment. The fatlier 
of this family died eight months after the fam- 
ily came to America. The mother is still living, 
at the advanced age of eighty-eight 3'ears. Her 
mind is still active and she retains her intei-est in 
current events. 



^\ WILLIAM n. TERRY, who controls and op- 
\r\ll erates a tine farm on sections 8 and 9, 
^\y R.aymond Township, Jlontgomery County, 



was born near .Jersey ville, Jersey County, 111., on 
the IStli of November, 18.'58. The Terry family 
is of Welsh origin, some of the ancestors having 
come to America in the latter part of the seven- 
teenth century and located in Connecticut. It was 
in honor of this family that the old town of 
Terry ville. Conn., was named. Many of its members 
have been |)rominent in the history of this country'. 
The great-grandfather of our subject w.as with 
Washington at N'alley Forge and did good service 
in the War for Inde|iendence. (ien. Terrv, the 
noted Indian tighter, was also a member of the 
same family. 

After the Revolution, the Terry family went to 
Virginia, where Jasper M. Terr_y, the father of our 
subject, was born. When he was a small child ins 
parents removed to Kentucky, and in 18.32, when 
eighteen years of age, he came to Illinois and lo- 
cated in what is now Jersey County, liut was then 
(ireene County, lie .accumulated (piitc a large 
fortune prior tolas death, which occurred in 1876. 



Ills wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary A. 
Wagner, was a native of Allen County, K^-., and 
was of (ierman extraction. 

The Terry family numbered nine children, all 
of whom are yet living: John W. is a man of 
much learning and is a l>a[itist preacher by pro- 
fession. He was a missionary to Spain for many 
years and was there located in 18(18, when the 
.Spanish Government banished all Protestant mis- 
sionaries from tlie country. He then returned to 
the United .Slates and went to New Mexico, where 
he established the First National Bank at Socorro. 
He is now a wealthy liaiiker and real-estate dealer. 
Anslara K., A. O., T. ,1., and T. F. constitute the 
firm of attorneys and real-estate men who do 
Inisiness under the name of Terry l'>ros., in East .St. 
Louis. They are wealthy citizens and very prom- 
inent. A. O. is a graduate of Ann Arbor Univer- 
sity. T. J. and T. F. are graduates of Shurtleff 
College. Henry C. resides on the old homestead 
in Jersey County. Mary Emma is the wife of 
William Hatcher, a hotel kee|ier of Springfield, 
111. F^-ances A. is the wife of Dr. E. Weir, of 
Ed wards ville. 

Our subject did not have the advantage of a 
college education as his younger brothers did, as 
when he was a youth, his father had not yet ac- 
quired his fortune, but he managed to olitain 
a fair English education in the schools of Jersey- 
ville, andis now a well-informed man. Ho .assisted 
his fatlier on the home farm until ^March, 18(;i, when 
he came to Montgomery County and located on a 
farm in what is now I'itm.-in Township. In De- 
cemlier of the same year, he married Miss Milberry 
.Sharp, a native of Macoupin County, III., whose 
parents came to this State in an early day from 
Ten nessee. 

After the breaking out of the late war, IMr. Terry 
abaudoncil f.arming to enter the service of his 
country. He enlisted on the 12th of August, 
1862, in Company F, One Hundred and Twenty- 
second Illinois Infanti'v, of which he was commis- 
sioned Sergeant, and for three years he valiantly 
.served his C(Uintry, participating in many battles 
and engagements. When the war was over, he 
was honorably discharged, on the 8th c>f August, 
1865. He then retuined to his home, where he 



122 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 



continued to reside until the spring of 1877, when, 
after his father's death, he removed to his present 
home. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Terr\- liave been born five 
children, naniel3-: Willi.am ,1., wlio is engaged in 
farming near Pana, III; Hcna wiio is engaged in 
teaching music; George L., an electrician; John 
Charles, a musician of much talent and the leader 
of the Raymond Band; and Fannie Agnes, a teacher 
of recognized ability in the public schools. Mr. 
Terry is a man of more than ordinary ability, and 
his success in life has come to him as the reward 
of his own efforts. Socially, he is a prominent 
member of the Grand Army, being Commander of 
Raymond Post No. 504. 



i^ii^ i — — 



^^EORGE FOSTER is a well-known and suc- 
cessful farmer of Audubon Township, 
Montgomery County, and is a veteran of 
the Civil War. He was born in County Tyrone in 
the North of Ireland in 1838, being the youngest 
of four sons and next to the youngest in a family 
of seven children born to .James and Margaret 
Foster. His parents brought him to America 
when he was a child, consequently he knows no 
other land and is as loyal to the Stars and Stripes 
as if he had lieen born in Uncle Sara's Dominion. 
After emigrating to this country, his parents at 
once located in Scioto County, Oiiio, where his 
father secured employment in an iron foundry 
and at the same time cultivated a small farm, on 
which the family was reared. 

tieorge and his brotliers and sisters obtained 
such education as tlie common schools afforded. 
After the death of the husband and father in 1857, 
the widow with her children moved to Adams 
County, Oliio, where our sul)ject tilled the soil on 
a rented farm until the opening of the Civil War. 
On the2ythof July, 1862, his name might be found 
on the muster rolls of Company E, Ninety-first 
Ohio Infantry as a private. He was at once 
sent to Virginia and from there to Fayetteville, W. 



Va., where for nearly a year and a half they were 
holding the forts, doing garrison and scouting 
dut)'. They then started on a raid on the line of 
the Virginia A- Tennessee Railroad, their object- 
ive point being Dublin Depot, which they reached 
after a forced march of forty miles in one day. 
They burned the depot and railroad bridge and 
returned by w.ay of White Sulphur Springs, intend- 
ing to connect with Hunter at Staunton, but their 
supplies being cut off they had to again return to 
West Virginia to meet the supply train. They 
then proceeded on their way and joined Hunter 
at the above-named place. During the journey a 
small battle was fought at Lexington, and the 
enemy was driven in front of them to Lynch- 
burg. 

In the battle of Staunton Mr. Foster's regiment 
was in the advance and man}^ of its members were 
slain. They were then compelled to retreat, dur- 
ing which time the3' suffered many hardships, be- 
ing greatly in need of food. After reaching 
Parkersburg they took the train to Harper's 
Ferry, at which time they were under command of 
Gen. Sheridan, and with him took part in the bat- 
tle of Stephen's Station, not far from Winchester. 
The battle of Winchester next occupied their at- 
tenti(m, after which tliey crossed into Maryland 
and for some time thereafter were in camp at 
Harper's Ferry. After participating in a number 
of fierce engagements, the second battle of Win- 
chester was fought, and here our subject received 
an injury from the concussion of a shell and was 
sent to the hospital at Piiiladelphia. Later he re- 
joined his regiment, and during the following win- 
ter was on duty along the line of the Baltimore & 
Ohio Railroad, in the vicinity of Cumberland, Md. 
In tiie spring of 1865 he was sent to Winchester, at 
which place the news of Lee's surrender reached 
him. He w.assoon mustered outat Columbiaand or- 
dered to Camp Denison, where he was discharged 
in 1865, 

With the consciousness of having served his 
country faithfully for three j-ears, Mr. Foster re- 
turned to his home and there remained about one 
3ear, at the end of wiiicli time he located in Mont- 
gomery County, 111., where he worked as a farm 
hand until 1867. During that year he was united 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



123 



in marriage with Miss Lucitta Pettingale, tlie 
daugliter of a proniinenl and well-to-do fai-mer. 
who was also a native of Ohio. At tlie (h'ath of 
her father she inlierited the lin(^ farm on which 
they are now residing in Audnlion Township. 
They are the parents of five children: Maggie E., 
a prominent scliool teaclier of the cnunty; Joseijh 
O.. who assists his father on the farm; llattic .1., 
Daisy and James Ross. 

Politically Mr. Foster has ever been a Ixepulilican. 
his first vote having been cast fur the martyred 
President, Aliraham Ijincoln. He is a memlier of 
the Grand Army of the Republic, liclonging to No- 
komis Post, in which he has held the oHices of 
Senior Wee, Junior \'ice and minor positions. As 
a soldier he was iirave, true and faithful; as a cit- 
izen lie is ])ublic-spirited. industrious and honor- 
able; as a tiller of the soil he is iirogressive, thrifty 
and energetic; and as a iiusliand and father he is 
kind, cnnsiderate and generous. His friends are 
many. Ins enemies few, and he is generous m aid- 
ins; those who are not so fortunate as himself. 



W OKON CASE. The name that heads this 
J (?^ sketch is that of one of the early settlers of 
jl LA\ ^\^j^ vicinit\', whose entire life in this 
county has lieen such as to win him the respect and 
esteem of all who are favored with his acquaint- 
ance. Coming here when the country was wild 
and un>ettled, he has borne his |)art in the devel- 
opment of the land and assisted in tiringing it to 
its present high rank among the counties of this 
choice section. 

Our suliject was born in Washington County, 
N. Y., Ajiril 6, 183.3, and his parents, Naoman and 
Mary (Foster) Case, were natives of the Kmpire 
State also. The paternal grandfather is said to 
have been a soldier in the Revolutionary War and 
fought for independence. Wlien about live years 
of ago, our subject came witii his parents to. the 
Buckeye State. They settled in Northwestern 
Ohio and there Loron Case remained until about 



fifteen years of age, when he started out to fight 
life's battles for himself. He first went to Wiscon- 
sin, where lie found employment on a farm and 
received as comiiensation -^'.i per month. He was 
thus engaged for about two years, when the rich 
soil of the I'rairie State caused him to settle within 
its borders. He first located in Greene County, but 
remained there a sliort time only, when became to 
IMontgomery County, and almost his first emiiloy- 
ment was assisting in setting out the first hedge 
fence, liois I) 'Arc hedge, for L. II. Thomas and 
also for S. K. Thom;is. 

On the 22d of Febiniary, IHCi.'i, our subject was 
united in marriage with Miss Mary J. Sterling, a 
native of (>hio, who came with hci' iiarcnts to Illi- 
nois wln'u she was a small girl, and has since been 
a resident of tliis State. T<) Mr. an<l IMrs. Case 
have been born nine children, seven of whom are 
living and are as folhiws: .Maria, wife of Joseph 
Deatherage; Ella, wife of .lohn Clouse; Anna, 
Clara, Elbert, Otis and Cora. 

About 1805, Mr. Case and family settled in 
Bois D'Arc Township, and they have made their 
home here ever since. He owns a tine piece of land, 
and all his farming operations are conducted in a 
manner reflecting much credit upon his manage- 
ment. Thorough-going and progressive, he has 
accumulated all his projierty by his own exertions 
and can now enjoy the fruits of his lalior. He 
has held a number of township otlices and at the 
present time is Highwa.y Commissioner, and for 
many years has served as School Director. He has 
always been a public-spirited citizen and is a pa- 
tron of education and all worthy enterprises. He 
is alive to the interests (jf tlie county, is willing to 
do his part in forwarding all enterprises for the 
public good, and is an important factor of Mont- 
gomery County. 

Mr. Case is now very comfortably off and his 
honesty and lil.ierality in all things have won him 
a host of friends. In the pulilic offices he has held, 
he has discharged the duties of the same in a man- 
ner above criticism, and with a thoroughness 
highly creditable to all concerned. In politics, he 
adheres to the luinciples of the Democratic party 
and has advocated the principles of the same up 
to date. During his residence in this county. Mr. 



124 



yORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Case lia.-< ?ten almost incredible changes for im- 
provement, and wliere was once a vast wilderness 
of woods now can be seen fuiely cultivated farms 
and conjfortable homes. 



=^^lil-^i"i^il^^€ 



t-^ERMAN POGGENPOIIL. Our subject is 
""^ one of the leading German-American citi- 




zens in Harvel Township, Montgomery 
Countj'. He has a line farm located on 
section 30, of this township, which bears evidence 
of the industr}' and unswerving attention that he 
bestows upon it. Mr. Poggenpohl is a native of 
Prussia, having been born there April 7, 1833. He 
is a son of Francis and Margaret Poggenpohl, both 
of whom were also natives of Prussia. 

Oui- subject passed the first eighteen years of his 
life in his native land, and received the usual 
training of German boys, who looked forward to 
the military conscription. Possibly it was because 
he had different ambitions that he, like so many 
other (ierraan j'ouths, found that a change would 
be advisable at that age. He emigrated to Amer- 
ica in 1852, taking passage on a sailing-vessel, and 
after a voyage that lasted fifty-seven days, landed 
in New Orleans. He proceeded at once to Greene 
County, 111., and was in tiie employ of Mr. John 
Thomas for nineteen months, receiving in return 
for his labor $9 per month with his board. 

In 18r)3, our subject lost his parents. Tliey had 
come to America at the same time as did he, and 
after a residence of a few montiis in Greene 
County, the entire family had come to ISIontgom- 
ery County and settled on the farm where our 
subject now lives. His father secured a quarter- 
section of land from the Government, paying for 
it §1.25 per acre. When they went to live upon 
it they found it raw prairie land and young Her- 
man turned tiie first furrow on the farm. 

Of the family born to his parents, Mr. Poggen- 
polil is the eldest; Mary is the wife of .1. 11. Todt; 
Anthony, Joseph and Margaret were next in 
order of birth. The last-named is now a widow. 



Our subject w.is reared to man's estate and made 
familiar with all the duties of farm life. He is a 
thoroughly- practical man in his knowledge and 
ideas appertaining to agriculture. Pioneer days 
and pioneer style of living are perfectly familiar 
topics to J\Ir. Poggenpohl. He received a fair ed- 
ucation before leaving his native land, and since 
coming to America has acquired a great deal. He 
is loyal as an American citizen, and, retaining a 
deep love for the Fatherland, his allegiance is en- 
tirely given to the land of his adoption. 

Our sul)ject has been twice married and is the 
father of a large family of children, whose names are 
as follows: John, Antony, Frank, Charles, William, 
Mary, Margaret, Christina, Lena, Annie, Katie, 
Euiijia afid Bertha. Mr. Poggenpohl is the" owner 

of seven hundred and Sfeventy-two acres of well 

i L 
cultivated land. The home farm comprises four 

hundred and four acres. His successes in life are 
entirely due to his own efforts. He is well es- 
teemed in the township and county, has been 
Dii-ector of Schools for years, and is a strong ad- 
vocate of any improvement in educational meth- 
ods. For a number of years he was Township 
School Trustee and has been Highway Commis- 
sioner a number of times. Politicalh", our subject 
is a Democrat. In his religious preference, he is a 
Roman Catholic. He is a kind-hearted and public- 
spirited citizen. 



♦^♦= 



'i- V 



~~N 



\tP^JCHARD S. D. ROBERTS w.as born in 
L^ Henr3' County, Ky., September 15, 1822, 
<ii \, and died .September 17, 1892, when two 
days past three-score and ten. He was a 
prominent farmer of Bond County, and resided on 
section 3, Mulberry Grove Township. Mis father 
was an early settler of this county, having come 
hither in 1822 and settled on Government land, 
but did not make this place his permanent home. 
After residing here for about two years, he re- 
moved to Vanburensberg, Montgomery Countj-, 
where he remained for many years. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



125 



The father of (uir subject, was born in Bards- 
town, K.y., in 1780, and was there reared to man- 
hood. In his native State he married Sarah Sim- 
mons, wlio was born in lieiirv County, Ivy., and 
died after lier removal to Mont-o-omery County, 
111. All of lier tliirteen children grew to maturity 
anil all man-led with (.me exce[)tion. 

(Jrandfather Simmons was one of the soldieis in 
the war for independence and when the last rec- 
ord of liim was received he w.as still living, at the 
unusual age of one hundred and fifteen >ear,«. 
Whether the climate of their home tends to lon- 
gevity, or whether that fabled spring whose waters 
give everlasting youtli was shown this remarkalile 
man and his wife, can not be discovered, but true 
it is that the grandmother of our subject, the wife 
of the patriarch, lived seven years over a century. 
This certainly is a most interesting fact, and one 
of which the family (>( Mr. IJoberts is justly 
proud. 

The graiKlfather of our subject, ISenjamin 
Roberts, was a native of Virginia and came to 
Kentucky at an early day, even before the great 
Daniel Hoone performed such valorous deeds in 
that State. , The ancestry of the family was Eng- 
lish-Welsh, and that combination li.as always made 
a race which has borne well its part in the battle 
of life. The surviving niembeis of the family to 
which our subject belonged are a sister who bears 
gracefully her eighty years, and a brother who 
lives in Colorado and admits his seventy-six years 
as another might acknowledge his liftietli. 

Our subject was the eleventh child in a fainil\- 
of thirteen children, and was two years old when 
he came to Illinois. His first school experience 
was not very pleasant, as the two-mile walk 
through the woods was a long one for a child, and 
the place not very inviting when he reached it. 
The house was made of logs, the (juncheon scats 
A\eie hard, and the master made up in authority 
what he lacked in knowledge, and altogether the 
road to learning in those days was a hard one to 
traxcl. What education ihe children received was 
really earned. In the days of which this is written, 
when large families were the rule, as soon as boys 
grew to l)e of use their school da_ys were over. 
Tills was the case with our sul)je<'l, and his help 



was required on the farm because the whole work 
had to be done by manual labor, as this was before 
the days of machinery. .July 27, 1842, Mr. Roberts 
was joined in matrimony with Miss INIarv R. 
Wliite, who w.as ijorn and reared in Loudoun 
County, Va. This worthy lady bravely bore her 
part in the picuicer life of the day, and won the 
regard of all with whom she came in contact. 

.\fter his marriage, our subject located where 
the fiimily now resides. Me built a log house and 
there lived until the breaking out of the Mexican 
War. Then with i)atriotic fervor he enlisted in 
Company K, Third Illinois Infantry, and served 
for twelve months. Entering as (Corporal he was 
promoted to be Fourth Sergeant, and received his 
discharge at New Orleans in lcS4(). After the 
close of the war, he returned home, and by in- 
dustry became the owner of a farm of two liun- 
dred and fifty-two acres of land, all of which he 
cultivated. It was wood and prairie, luit he made 
a beautiful lioiiie out of what was once a wilder- 
ness. 

The beginning of Mr. Roberts" life was as that 
of many others of the self-made men of the 
county. His means were small, but he possessed 
energy, s.agacity, and an ainindance of industry, and 
has made himself the owner of one of the (inest 
farms in the county. Mr. and Jlrs. RoI)erts became 
the parents of the foUowingchildrcn: Mary E. is the 
wife of Hardin Elmore, whose sketch ajipears else- 
where in this work; .Tames H. is a merchant at New- 
port, 111.; Juiia Stark is the wife of Frederick Dun', 
of Bond County; Elizabeth, formerly the wife of 
l'\edei'ick Kimball, is now deceased, and of the 
three children that she left, one is married; George 
^\^ died at the age of eighteen years; Richard S. 
and Stephen Douglas live in Bond County. 

Our subject was a general farmer and stock- 
raiser. He was a Democrat in his political faith, 
and was always ready to give his opinions upon 
the general to|iics of the day. The branch of the 
church known as the I'nitcd Bajilist was the re- 
ligious denomination with whiirli our subject af- 
filiated and in which he held the office of Deacon. 
He was prominent in his church for many years 
and contributed to its support liberally, while he 
also aided in the Sundav-school work. 



12fi 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



One of the important families in Bond County 
bore the name of Gilham, and were the first 
settlers liere. At this time there are none of the 
old name to give a sketch, and as this family is 
connected by marriage with the family of the sub- 
ject, it does not seem out of place to insert it 
here. Charles Gilham built the first mill in the 
county, where is now Mulberry Grove, about five 
hundred yards northwest of Mr. Roberts' house. 
He was a prominent man, well regarded and re- 
spected b}' all, and was a member of the Presby- 
terian Church. A sister of our subject married 
Newton CTiJham, and one of his brothers married 
Sarah Gilham. All of these are now deceased. 

The full name of our subject is Richard Steph- 
ens Dorsey, and he was the namesake of a good 
old man, the family physician in the old home in 
Henry County, Ky. Our subject ever honored his 
name by his life. Throughout this beautiful and 
prosperous county, none were more highly re- 
garded in the neighborhood tiian he. 



—^ 



i>-^^<fc 



f 



\T UDGE CICERO J. LINDLY, one of the 
! I most prominent politicians of Bond County, 
is [irobalily bettor known in the political 
circles of the State than any other man of 
his years. He is also one of the most jjrosperous 
farmers of Central Township. Born in Madison 
County, 111., December 11, 18.57, he is the son of 
.lolin .7. Lindly, who was also a native of INIadi- 
son County and was born in 1832. 

Two Lindl}' brothers came from England to 
America in Colonial times and settled in North 
Carolina, and fioiii one of these was descended .John 
Lindly, the grandfather of our subject. He was a 
fanner by occupation, and in those days, when 
every man was skilled in the use of fire-arms, he 
was an ex|)erienced hunter through the wilds of 
the Pine Tree State. So exjiert did he become in 
the use of his musket in seaicli of beavers, that the 
sobrifpiet of ''Beaver John" was given him by his 
neighbors. At a very early day in the history of 



Madison Connty he went there on horseback and 
took up Government land, erecting his log 
cabin by the side of Silver Creek. He resided 
there only a few years and then entered land on 
Pleasant Ridge in the same county. 

Grandfather Lindly served in the Black Hawk 
War, as well as in the various skirmishes with the 
savages at that time, and was well known to 
many of the Indians, with some of whom he be- 
came very friendly. In his hunting and trap- 
ping expeditions he became well acquainted with 
the natives, and probably understood them 
better than did many settlers. His business of 
selling beaver fur was very profitable for those 
early days, although he did not become an Astor 
by the handling of furs. His death occurred in 
1866, when he reached his seventy -second year. 
The grandmother of our subject, who was in her 
maidenhood Sar.ah (runterman, was born in Ken- 
tucky and IS now living in good health and 
sound mind in Lebanon, St. Clair County, III., at 
the age of ninet3-three years. 

The father of our subject gained the rudiments 
of his education in the log schoolhouse, but later 
attended the .academy in Troy, 111. He became a 
farmer and cultivated the land belonging to the 
old homestead in Madison County, and owns four 
hundred acres there. He moved into Lebanon 
in 1807, and now lives the comfort.able life of a 
retired farmer of means. His life has been a suc- 
cessful one, and now he enjoys the income of his 
property without the labor of attending to it per- 
.sonally. The mother of our sul)ject was Mary 
Amanda Palmer, and she was born on the site of 
the i^reseiit city of .loliet. III. Her fathei entered 
land there and built llie tirst liiidge. She became 
the mother of four children: Joseph, M.'idison 
M., Cicero and Mary. 

Our subject was reared and educated partly in 
Madison and partly in St. Clair County. He first 
attended the public schools and then went to Mc 
Kendree College at Lebanon, whore he took the sci- 
entific and law courses, graduating from the former 
in June, 1 877, and fr(.)m the latter in 1878. His youth 
prevented him from being admitted to the Bar, his 
age being only twenty, and he spout a year reading 
law with ex-Gov. Fletcher in St. J^ouis, after which 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



127 



he was admitted to practice in the State of Missouri. 
Tlie marriage of Judge Lindly tool< phxce Decem- 
ber 22, 1880, to Miss Alice .). McNeil, who was 
horn in this county .Tune 'J, 185;"), and three chil- 
dren have been born of this union, althougli only 
one, a fine boy, Abram, is still living. Alice died 
at the age of two and one-half years, and she was 
preceded by an infant. Tiie parents of Mrs. Lind- 
ly, Aliraliam and Elizabeth (Etzler) jVIcNeil, were 
among the earliest settlers in the county. 

After his marriage, our subject settled on the 
old homestead in JIadison County, where he lived 
for two years, and then bouglit liis present farm, 
located two miles south of Greenville, and settled 
here in .July, 1880. Judge Lindly has five hun- 
dren and eighty acres of land, all under cultiva- 
tion with the exception of eighteen, and the 
whole farm is in one body, lie carries fin a sys- 
tem of mixed farming and stock-raising. Two , 
hundred and forty acres have been cleared since the i 
Judge took charge of the place, and he has erected 
good buildings and has so improved it that it 
now ranks as one of the best farms in the county. 
The yield of wheat for the past year on one hun- 
dred and seventy acres of land was four thousand 
and eighty bushels. 

Judge and Airs. Lindly are members of the 
Christian Church, and to its support contribute 
liberally. lie is a very important factor in the 
Republican ranks of the State, and was an Elector 
on the lilaine and Logan ticket in 1884. lie was 
elected to the position of County Judge for four 
years in 1886. Many cases came before him, and 
his duty was performed without fear or favor. 
At Chicago, in 1888, he was present at the Na- 
tional Convention as a delegate, and he has been 
a delegate to everv State convention since 1884. 
He was a candidate for State Treasurer in 18i)0, 
and he was nominated for Congress in the Eigh- 
teenth District in the same year, but, like many 
other Republicans in that year, he was defeated 
by a ccunliination of circumstances which history 
will explain in the future. This district li.as only 
once in twenty years been carried by a Repul)lican. 

Judge Lindly received tiie Uepulilican vote 
fwenty-oue times in tlie Legislature in the winter 
of 18;)0-91 for United States Senator, He was 



President of the Earmers' Mutual Benefit As- 
sociation of the State from 1889 to October, 1891. 
and the organization grew from twenty thousand 
to seventy thousand members during his adminis- 
tration. He has "stumped" the State in every cam- 
paign since 1880, and is in demand as a speaker 
at all kinds of meetings. At present he holds the 
otlice of Chairman of the Congressional Commit- 
tee, and is one of the rising men of the State, of 
whom future great exjiectations are held. 



f H ^ ^^^.a^^W H^llf 



AMUEL H. LIBHEY is a farmer living near 
^^;^' Reno, in Bond County, this State, and as a 
); veteran who served gall;uitly in the late 
war, commands the regard of all people of 
patriotic instincts. Mr. Lilibey is a native of this 
county, having been born near the place where he 
now lives October 22, 1840. He was the sixth 
child in the family of nine children born to 
William P. and Sallie ( Drown) Lilihey. 

William P. Libbey was a native of the Pine 
Tree State, and he went across the border into New 
llam|isliire in order to get a wife. In 18.'?(!, they 
came to Illinois and settled on the farm where our 
subject was born. Later, they went to Elm Point, 
and there Mr. Libbey, Sr., died in l.H(!2, while his 
wife did not long survive him, as she passed away 
in the same year. All of their children, with the' 
exception of two, still survive and are named as 
follows: Amanda E., William Albeii, Sarah A., 
1. H., John B., Edward P., and our subject. The 
eldest sister is the wiilow of Leonard .lernigan, 
and now lives at Newton, Kan.; William resides at 
Coffeen, Montgomery County; Sarah .\.,tlie widow 
of X. A. McLean, lives at Newton, Kan.; L 11. 
is a farmer living near Newton, Kan.; John, who 
served in the Eirst Cavalry during the late war, 
is a real-estate agent at Altamont, Kan.; and Ed- 
ward P., a farmer living near Newton. 

.luni^ II, 18(il,Mr. Libbey went into thearmy and 
served in Comp;iny D.of the Tvvenly-second Illinois 
Infantry. He enlisted us a [trivate and gave three 



122 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



continued to reside until the sprinuf of 1877, when, 
after his father's deatli, lie removed to his present 
home. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Terry have been born five 
children, namely-: William .1., who is engaged in 
farming near Pana, 111.; Kena who is engaged in 
teaching music; George L., an electrician; John 
Charles, a musician of much talent and the leader 
of the Raymond Band; and Fannie Agnes, a teacher 
of recognized ability in the public schools. Mr. 
Terry is a man of more than ordinary ability, and 
his success in life has come to him as the reward 
of his own efforts. Socially, he is a prominent 
member of the Grand Army, being Commander of 
Raymond Post No. 504. 









GEORGE FOSTER is a well-known and suc- 
^ cessful farmer of Audubon Township, 
^._^ Montgomery County, and is a veteran of 
the Civil War. He was born in County Tyrone in 
the North of Ireland in 1838, being the youngest 
of four sons and next to the youngest in a family 
of seven children born to James and Margaret 
Foster. His parents brought him to America 
when he was a child, consequently he knows no 
other land and is as loyal to the Stars and Stripes 
as if he had been born in Uncle Sam's Dominion. 
After emigrating to this country, his parents at 
once located in Scioto County, Ohio, where his 
father secured employment in an iron foundry 
and at the same time cultivated a small farm, on 
which the family was roared. 

George and iiis brothers and sisters obtained 
such education as the coniiiion schools afforded. 
After the death of the husband and father in 1857, 
the widow with her children moved to Adams 
County, Ohio, where our subject tilled the soil on 
a rented farm until the opening of the Civil War. 
On the'i'Jthof July, 1862, his name might be found 
on the muster rolls of Company E, Ninetj'-first 
Ohio Infantry as a private. He was at once 
sent to Virginia and from there to Fayetteville, W. 



Va., where for nearly a year and a half they were 
holding the forts, doing garrison and scouting 
dutj'. They then started on a raid on the line of 
the Virginia A Tennessee Railroad, their object- 
ive point being Dublin Depot, which they reached 
after a forced march of forty miles in one day. 
They burned the depot and railroad bridge and 
returned by vv.ay of White Sulphur Springs, intend- 
ing to connect with Hunter at Staunton, but their 
supplies being cut off they had to again return to 
West Virginia to meet the supply train. They 
then proceeded on their way and joined Hunter 
at the above-named place. During the journey a 
small battle was fought at Lexington, and the 
enemy was driven in front of them to Lynch- 
burg. 

In the battle of Staunton Mr. Foster's regiment 
was in the advance and many of its members were 
slain. They were then compelled to retreat, dur- 
ing which time they suffered many hardships, be- 
ing greatly in need of food. After reaching 
Parkersburg they took the train to Harper's 
Ferry, at which time they were under command of 
Gen. Sheridan, and with him took part in the bat- 
tle of Stephen's Station, not far from Winchester. 
The battle of Winchester next occupied their at- 
tenti(m, after which they crossed into Maiyland 
and for some time thereafter were in camp at 
Harper's Ferry. After participating in a number 
of fierce engagements, the second battle of Win- 
chester was fouglit, and here our subject received 
an injury from the concussion of a shell and was 
sent to the hospital at Philadelphia. Later he re- 
joined his regiment, and during the following win- 
ter was on duty along the line of the Baltimore cfe 
Ohio Railroad, in the vicinity of Cumberland, Md. 
In the spring of 1865 he was sent to Winchester, at 
which i)l.ace the news of Lee's surrender reached 
him. He was soon mustered outat Columbiaand or- 
dered to Cami) Douison, where he was discharged 
in 1865. 

Willi the consciousness of having served his 
countiw faithfully for three years, Mr. F"oster re- 
turned to his home and there remained about one 
year, at the end of wliicli time he located in Mont- 
gomery County, 111., where he worked as a farm 
hand until 1867. During that year he was united 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



123 



in marriage with Miss Liicitta Pettingale, tlie 
dauglitcr of a iironnneiit and well-to-do farmer, 
who was also a native of Ohio. At tlic death of 
lier father she inherited the line farm on wliioh 
they are now residing in Audubon Township. 
They are the parents of live children: Maggie K., 
a prominent school teacher of the county; Joseph 
O.. who .assists liis father on tlie farm; liattie ,1., 
Daisy and James Ross. 

Politically IMr. Foster has evei- been ;i Kcpulilii'an. 
liis first vote having been cast fur the martyred 
President, Abraham Lincoln. lie is a memlier of 
the Grand Army of the Republic, Iielonging to No- 
komis Post, in which he has held the ollices of 
Senior Vice, Junior Vice and minor jiositions. As 
a soldier he was brave, true and faithful; as a cit- 
izen he is public-spirited, industrious and honor- 
able; as a tiller of the soil he is iirogressive, thrifty 
and energetic; and as a husband and father lie is 
kind, considerate and generous. His friends are 
many, his enemies few, and he is generous in aid- 
ins; those who are not so fortunate as himself. 



==«^-§^ 



ORON CASE. The name tliat heads this 
), sketch is that of one of the earlv setllers of 



II 



this vicinity, whose entire life in this 
county has been such as to win him the respect and 
esteem of all who are favored with his aci|uaint- 
ance. Coming here when the country was wild 
and unsettled, he has borne his jiart in the devel- 
opment of the land and assisted in bringing it to 
its present higli rank among the counties of this 
choice section. 

Our subject was born in Washington Ccninty, 
N. Y., April 6, 1833, and his p.arents, Naoman and 
]\Iary (Foster) Case, were natives of the Empire 
State also. The paternal grandfather is said to 
have been a soldier in the Revolutionary War and 
fought for independence. When about live years 
of age, our subject came with his parents to. the 
Buckeye State. They settled in Northwestern 
Ohio and there Loron Case reniaiiu'd until about 



fifteen years of age, wlien he started out to fight 
life's battles for himself, lie first went to Wiscon- 
sin, where he found employment on a farm and 
received as compensation *'.< [ler month, lie was 
thus engaged for about two years, when the rich 
soil of the Prairie State caused him to settle within 
its Ijorders. He first located in Greene County, liut 
remained there a short time only, when became to 
Blontgomery County, and almost his first employ- 
ment was .assisting in setting out the first hedge 
fence, I'.ois 1) 'Arc hedge, for L. II. Thomas and 
also for S. R. Thiunas. 

On the 22d of Fcbiniai-y, 1 SO:i, our suliject was 
united in marriage with Miss iMary J. Sterling, a 
iiati\e of Ohio, who came with her parents to Illi- 
nois when she was a small girl, and has since been 
a resident of tliis State. To ^Ir. and "Mrs. Case 
have been born nine children, seven of whom are 
living and are as follows: Maria, wife of Joseph 
Deatherage; Ella, wife of John Clouse; Anna, 
Clara, Elbert, Otis and Cora. 

Aliout 186;"), Mr. Case anil family settled in 
Bois D'Arc Townshiii, and they have made their 
home here ever since, lie owns a fine piece of land, 
and all his farming operations are conducted in a 
manner refiecting much credit upon his man.age- 
ment. Thorough-going and progressive, he has 
accumulated all his property by his own exertions 
and can now enjoy the fruits of his l:d)i)r. He 
has held a numlier of fownshii) ollices and at the 
present time is Highway Commissioner, and for 
many years has served as School Director. He has 
always been a pulilic-spirited citizen and is a pa- 
tron of education and all worthy enterprises. He 
is alive to the interests of the county, is willing to 
do his part in forwarding all enterprises for the 
public good, and is an important factor of Mont- 
gomery County. 

Mr. Case is now very comfortafily off and his 
honesty and liberality in all things have won him 
a host of friends. In the public offices he has held, 
he has discharged the duties of the same in a man- 
ner above criticism, and with a thoroughness 
highly creditable to all (concerned. In politics, he 
adheres to the i)rinci|)les of the Democratic party 
and has advocated the principles of the same up 
tt) date. During his residence in this county. Mr. 



130 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Our subject has three hundred and seventy-five 
acres of prairie land and has eighty acres in tim- 
ber. He h.as made all of the substantial improve- 
ments upon the place and now has a farm second 
to none in the county. lie h.as raised liotli stock 
and grain and lias a thcirough understanding of 
the management of the former. In 1878 he went 
to Harvej' County, Kan., and dealt in cattle and 
liogs until 1883, buying and shipping them. His 
present beautiful residence was built in 1884, when 
he also erected a large granarv and buggy house. 
The home is a charming one and the people are 
worthy dwellers in it. Mrs. Potter is a lover of 
flowers and her taste is seen in the beautiful ar- 
rangement of her lawn. She is a member of the 
Presbyterian Church and a lovely Christian lady. 
In politics, Mr. Potter votes the Republican ticket 
and upholds the principles of that party. 

Almost all of the advancement in the county 
has come under the notice of Mr. Potter and he 
has done his ^llare toward the development of his 
section. 



-JA •?• A •?• ^5 






:^ 




r^ ROF. J. L. TRAYLOK. It is a fact credit- 
able to the character of the American peo- 
■^' i)le that in settling up the country one of 

I \ the first objects they have endeavored to 
achieve has been that of making provision for the 
education of the youth. In the pioneer days, when 
the settlements were small and the children .scat- 
tered, there was an endeavor on the j)art of the 
Western communities to secure for their chil- 
dren such advantages of education as were avail- 
able. Much attention vvas i)aid to this important 
subject, and that this attention has not been al- 
lowed to lessen with increase of population may 
be learned by noting the school houses that crown 
every hill-top. Prominent among those who have 
ever evinced much interest in educational matters, 
stands Prof. J. L. Traylor, who is now the able and 
etBcient Superintendent of Schools of Montgomery 
County, III. 

Prof. Traylor is a native of this county, born in 
East Fork Township, April 7, 1858, and is a son 



I of Joel C. Traylor, a native of the Blue Grass State. 
About 1814, the latter came to Montgomery 

I County, 11!., and located in East Fork Township, 
where he kept a general store for forty years. He 
died in Ajuil, 1887. In politics, he was a Demo- 
crat, and his first Presidential vote was for Jackson. 

1 He was School Treasurer for thirty j'ears in the 
township, and was a worthy and consistent mem- 
ber of the Universalist Church. He married Miss 
Sarah Ohmart, a native of Ohio, and the daughter 
of George Ohmart, who was born in Pennsylvania. 
Mrs. Traylor came to JSIontgomery County when 
fourteen years of age, and was married in this 
county' to i\[r. Traylor in 1846. She is now resid- 
ing on the old home place. The paternal grandpar- 
ents of our subject, James and Nanc^^ (Cardwell) 
Traylor, were natives of the Old Dominion, and the 
latter was a cousin of John Randolph, of Roanoke. 
Our subject's great-grandfather, Humphrey Tray- 
lor, was also born in Virginia, and was a Revolu- 
tionary soldier, serving under Shelby. 

Of the thirteen children born to his parents, ten 
sons and three daughters, seven of whom are liv- 
ing, our subject was eighth in order of birth. His 
first educational advantages were received in the 
common schools, but later he attended for ten 
weeks the old Hillsboro Academy. After this he 
started out .as a teacher, and followed this profes- 
sion for fifteen years, teaching for seven and a-half 
years in Walnut Grove. He taught his last term 
there. He was very successful as an educator, and 
won an enviable reputation in that capacitj'. The 
happy domestic life of our subject began on the 
14tli of April, 1878, when he was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Mary F. Hicks, a native of Tennessee. 
Five children ha\'e blessed this union, two sons 
and three daughters: Lewy, Claire, Lyman, Jessie 
and Alma. 

Mr. Traylor is a Democrat in politics, and be- 
fore reaching the age of twenty-one years he was 
elected Assessor of the township. In November, 
1890, he was elected County Superintendent of 
Schools. He is a gentleman well qualified for the 
position; he is pleasant and painstaking in his 
manners, and has the requisite ability to properly 
conduct that business. He is at present Trustee 
of the village of Coffeen. Our subject is a mem- 
der of the Lodge No. 1,143, M. W. of A., and is 
also a member of Lodge No. 4., K. of P. He is the 
owner of forty-one acres of land, and is progress- 
ive and enterprising. He h.as ever been deejily in- 
terested in erlucational work, and since his nine- 
teenth year has devoted his time to this work. 





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)MAS. SEC. 10 . BOIS D'ARC TP . MO NTGOM TRY m II 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



135 



OIIN P. DAVIS. Our subject is a native 
of Crawford County, I'a., wlicro he was 
horn March 10, l,S2.'i. Without doubt, liis 
y^!/' parents settled in that wild i)ortinn of what 
was then c(_>nsidered the West after having' fol- 
lowed in the wake of Washinj^ton 's exi)editioii 
thither, when he went to inspect the French force 
preparatory to centralizing the power of the Eng- 
lis'.i forces. The writer well appreciates the con- 
diti(nis of life at that time and [ilaee. Crawford 
County is among the foothills of the Alleghany 
Ridge; the winters are long and sevei'e and the 
summers too short for such crops as the farmers 
raise here in Southern Illinois. Tlie houses were 
l)uilt very differently then from what they now 
are, and it was not unusual fur the lads snatching 
the last forty winlis of their nnirning nap to find 
themselves in the winter time cdNcred with a 
downy blanket of snow, which had drifted through 
the cracks and openings of the attic roof. lUit 
these hardships proved to liave developed a sturdy 
race of men, to whom ordinary ditlicnlties are but 
small obstacles. 

Our subject's father was by name I)avi(] (i. 
Davis, and his mother's maiden name was Rlioda 
Craven. The former died m Crawford County, 
Pa. The widow removed to Montgomer.y County, 
this -State, where she passed away. Of a family of 
ten children, John P. was the eldest. lie was 
reared upon the home farm in his native county 
and State, remaining there until twenty-one years 
of age. Thence he went to Wilmington, Del., and 
during his residence in that State made good his 
time in learning the plasterer's trade, to which he 
served a faithful apprenticeship. Fur se\eral years 
he engaged in his trade in Wilmington and Is'ew 
Jersey, and then returned to his native place and 
was engaged in his trade for three years. 

The West was beginning to offer most, allui'ing 
inducements to the young men who had amliitions 
aliove the every-da.y routine, and of these dursub- 
ject was one. He came to Litchlield, this State, 
where lu' followed his trade for three years and 
then i)nrchased one liundred and twenty acres on 
section Id, of North Litchfield Township. Ilelins 
endeavored to make tliis his paradise on earth and 
it has been )iis home ever since. Ilis attention 

6 



has been given chiefly to general farming. The 

buildings upon his |>lace are very good, his house 
cozy and [ileasant, and his barns and outhouses in 
good repair. He has added to his (iriginal pur- 
chase until his acres now number two hundred 
and sixty. 

iMr. Davis' life has Ih'cu enrichecl by the com- 
panionship of a good wift'. Her maiden name was 
Ann Dolbow, and she is a native of S.ilem 
County-, N. J., where she was born June 23, 1820, 
the daughter of ( ialiricl and .Alary Dolbow. Our 
subject and his wife have reared six children to 
lives of usefulness and honor. The eldest child 
died in infancy. The remaining ones ai-e: C.eorge 
D., Gideon S., Wesley C., Orlenna, Charles O. 
and William J. Oilenna is the wife of S. R. 
Blackvvelder. Two sons .'ind a daughter reside in 
Pratt County, Kan. 

The original of this sketch lias lieen a faithful 
custodian of several of the minor ollices in the gift 
of the tovvnshi|>. In politics, he is a Democrat, 
and likes to think of the princi|)les of his party in 
tlie beaut\- and simplicit)' of its originator. P)Oth 
our subject and his wife are members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal t'hurch, and have found great 
comfort in the social as well as religious associa- 
tions there encountered. 



f I * i i^^^^^i^^i^* 



^^^IIOMAS G. LAWS. Among the shrewd, 
'(/{(^^ successful and far-seeing young business 
S^f men of this section is Mr. Thomas G. Laws, 
whose life of industry and u.sefulness and whose 
record for honesty and uprightiiess have given 
him a hold u|)oii the c 'iiimunity which all might 
well desire to share. He is ;i native-born resident 
of Montgomei'y County, 111., his birtli occurring 
in Fast Fork Townslii|i December .5, 18,'il, and the 
re|)ntalion he has enjoyed has been not only that 
of a wide-awake, thorough-going business man. but 
of an intelligent .and tliorouglily-posted man in all 
public atTairs. He is engaged in merchandising 
in Coffee.n, and is also a live-stock ."im} gmin 
dealer of considerable prominence; 



136 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mr. Laws is the eldest son and second child born 
to William and IMar.y (McC'aslin) Laws, both na- 
tives of Kentucky, the father born in Todd and 
the mother in Caldwell County. After their mar- 
riage, the parents settled in a little round-log 
house on sixty acres of raw laud, and immediately 
began making improvements. They experienced 
all the hardships of pioneer life, and lived to see 
the wilderness blossom like the rose. They now 
have a very comfortable home, and are enjoying 
the accumulations of previous years. Nine chil- 
dren were born to their union: Sarah E.,our sub- 
ject, Lucinda M., Alfred W., Fielding F., Mary E., 
Charles L., William II., and Albert P. (deceased). 
All these children were reared on the old home 
place. The father is a Repulilican in liis political 
views, takes an active part in all tiie laudable en- 
terprises, and is a public-spirited citizen. 

The youthful days of our subject were spent on 
the home place, and in addition t(i a common-school 
education he entered the Ilillsboro Academy, 
where his education was completed. He remained 
under the i)arental roof until his marriage in A[iril, 
187;3, to Miss Sarah McCurry, a native of Mont- 
gomery County, 111. She died in 1878, leaving 
two sons, Clement and William, both at home at 
the present time. The second marriage of our sub- 
ject was tOJSIiss Nellie Wesner, a native of Fayette 
County, 111. This union has been blessed by the 
birtli of four children, two sons and two daugh- 
ters: Mary, Ralph, Gladys and V'ivian. 

Om- subject followed farming in East Fork 
Township for many years, and as he had been 
reared and trained to the duties of farm life from 
an early age, and understood every detail of the 
same, it was not to be wondered at that he was suc- 
cessful in that pursuit. However, he moved to 
Donnellson in 1880, embarked in the grain busi- 
ness, and remained there until 1889, when he 
moved to Coffeen, where he engaged in the live- 
stock and grain business. Later, he started a gen- 
eral store in connection with his other business, 
and is doing a very successful and prosperous busi- 
ness, lie ships to Toledo, IJaltimore and many 
other points, and is one of the leading men of the 
county. lie owns five buildings in CofTeen and 
the best business block in the village. He is 



widely and favorably known in the county, and 
fully merits the success which has attended all his 
enterinises. Like his father, he is a stanch sup- 
porter of the principles of the Keiuililican party 
and a useful and prominent citizen. Socially, he 
is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America 
and the Knights of Pythias. 



I^+^I 



"jf OIIN C. MrLEAN, Esq., is one of the most 
prtuninent and progressive farmers of the 
section in which he lives, as well as an hon- 
ored veteran of the late war. He resides in 
Lagrange Townshii), Bond County, and was born 
in Montgomery County, 111., .lune 13, 1843. His 
father, AVilliam R. McLean, was born in North Car- 
olina in 1823, and his grandfather was William 
McLean, a native of Scotland, who came to this 
country and settled in Guilford County, N. C, 
about 1800. He carried on farming there and died 
at an advanced age. 

The father of our subject was reared on a farm 
and came to Montgomeiy County in I84I, mak- 
ing the trip of course by wagon. Here he entered 
eighty acres of Government land and built a small 
frame house. This was one of the very first 
erected on the prairie in Hillsboro Township, and 
here he resided until his death in 1876. His gun 
was his trusty friend, and many were the deer he 
shot and the wolves he drove away. 

At his death Blr. McLean owned two hundred and 
forty acres of land which he had worked hard to 
secure and cultivate. His nearest market was St. 
Louis and to that city all grain and pork had to 
be hauled, and this necessitated a trip of five days 
with a night camp by the way. In 187(), he died, 
at the age of lifty-three years, after a useful 
and honest life. His religious convictions made 
him a Calvinist, and very strict was he in his 
ideas of right and wrong. In politics, he was 
a Whig, and latitr became a Republican, and at- 
tended to Ills duties as a citizen as faithfully as 
he performed every act of his life, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



137 



Till' hkiUrt of our .sLiliject, Emily -T. Harry, 
was lioni ill Kentuuky, the StaU' llial is noted 
for its beautiful women, ami she was l)rout;ht to 
Jloiilgomery County when only a little girl. Her 
family consisted of ten children, and sevi'U of 
these j^rew up. They are: .lohn C., Samuel 11., 
\ancy .1., Mary J., .Joseph R., .Melissa .Land Ida E. ; 
This wtu'thy lady is still livinn' honori'd among 
her children, a devoted member of tlu^ Presbyter- 
ian Chnnth. Her father w.as Richard ISarry, a na- 
tive of Kentucky of (ieriaan extraction. His set- 
tlement in Montgomei-y County was among the 
lirst made there, and he liecaine the possessor of two 
hundred acres of land before his death. 

Our subject was reared on a farm and attended 
the old log schoolhouse with its inimitive ajipli- 
anees for educating the young of I ha I day, and 
he was among the most studious of the pupils. | 
\Vhen the Civil War l.irokc out Ik.' wa^ among 
the lirst to spring to tlie defense of his land, 
and Ojtobar 1, 18G1, he enlisteil in Couipan_y E, 
Forty-ninth Illinois Infantry, and was mustered 
in at St. l.ouis and served in the Western divi- 
sion of the army. He was one of the valiant men 
who fought at Ft. Donolson, and Pittsburg Land- 
ing, and siege of Corinth, and then was put on 
patrol dut\' along the railroads for a b.mg tJme; 
later he was in the battle at Little Rock and in 
the Meridian campaign with Shernian, an<l then 
was with the Red River campaign and took pait 
in all the battles. His regiment was in the 
Struggles at Coldwater. !Miss., later was sent on 
the Missouri cMni|)aign after Price, and then to 
Nashville after IIo<.)d, and from Columbia, Tenn., 
to Paducah, Ky., where they were pciiniltcd to re- 
main at garrison duty until the close of the war, 
when he was mustered out in Septctiuber, l!^(i.'). Our 
subject is now in receipt of a $^f> pension a month- 
After the war the farm seemed most attractive 
to Mr. McLean, and soiitli of Ilillsboro he carries 
on his agricultural i)ursuits. Seiitembcr 27, 18(!7, 
he married Mi^s Sarah E. Laws, who was a native 
of Montgomerv County, and eight children liave 
been added to the family, although iMiiina and.Ics- 
sie are numbered with the dead. Those li\-ing are 
Freddie, Uertie, Clarenc<', JCslie, Samuel and Char- 
ley. t)ur subject settled upon si.xty acres of the 



old homestead and bought sixty acres more where 
he lived until IS.SI, when he sold there and 
bought his present place in the spring of that 
year. Here he has one hundred and sixty acres, 
and about all of it is improved and our subject has 
done the most, of the clearing of it. He raises 
grain and line stock and not only farms his own 
one hundred and sixty but about as much more 
which he rents. 

Ml. and Mrs. McLean are uieiubcTs of ihe Cum- 
berland Presbytciian Chureli and in (hat connec- 
tion are highly regarded. In his [lolitical belief 
he is a Ivcpiiblican and he has been in his present 
olliee of .Tuslice of the Peace for the past four 
years. Also he is one (_>f the three Road Commis- 
sioners, having miles of road to oversee and is 
now serving his third term in that ottice. He is 
connected with tlie(irand Army of the Reiiublic 
Post in (treenville, and is one of the most highly 
regarded men of his section, his friends being 
legion. 




sa\(ilTRE .1. \V. WIHTLOCK. Prominently 
engaged in the leal-i'statc, loan and lu- 
ll'/ ))) surance businos in this city is Squire 
J. W. Whitlock, who is well established, 
and wh(_i has earned a well-merited re|)utation for 
the conscientious and cllleient niannei with which 
lie conducts all affairs entl■u^led Id his care. .VI- 
lliougli our subject has onlv ln'cii established here 
since ISIMl, his business has alreads taken a very 
impoitant liuld upon tlie coiiiiniinit-y, for m the 
vei\' nature of things it was impossible thai a 
man of such calibre as Mr, WhilJock could en- 
gage in any business without- making an indel- 
ible impression upon tlie favoralile opinion of 
the residents .-iiul business men of the locality. 
His business is far-re.acliing in its nature, and he 
has always on hi> list a niimlu'r <if very choice 
lots for in vest, meat. In iiisuraucc matters he is 
well to the front, is agent for sonic of tlie lead- 



138 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ing companies, .ind can always quute premiums 
at lowest rates. 

Our subject was born in Montgomery County, 
Ohio, near Brookville, .January 4, 18.'59, and was 
fifth in order of birth of seven children l)orn to 
Klias and Mary (.Tolinson) Whitlock, the father a 
native of New .Tersey, born in the year 17it7, and 
the mother a native of Delaware, born in 180.5. 
Our subject's grandfather, William Whitlock, 
came to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1811), when there 
was but one hotel in the city, and later located on 
a farm about twelve miles from the city, where 
he remained during the remainder of his life. 
Luke .Johnston, the maternal grandfather of 8(iuire 
Whitlock, w.as an early settler of Hamilton County, 
Ohio, locating there about 1810. 

Elias Whitlock was reared in his native State, 
but came to Oliio witii his father, .and was mar- 
ried in that State, in 1827, to Miss .Johnston, who 
w.as reared in Hamilton County, Ohio. Later, this 
ambitious 3'oung couple settled in Montgoraer}' 
County, Ohio, on entered land, and there con- 
tinued to make tlieir home until 1870. when they 
moved to Piqua, Miami County*, Ohio, and there 
passed the remainder of tlieir days, the father dy- 
ing in 1880, .and the mother in 1886. Of tlie 
seven children born to them, six sons and one 
daughter, all reached mature years, married and 
became the heads of families. All are now living 
but one daughter, Sarah, who died in 1888. The 
other children are: Isaac ,J., at Piqua, Ohio; Will- 
iam, Professor of the Oliio University, of Dela- 
w.are; Stephen II.. pastor of the First Methodist 
Episcoi)al Church at Clinton. 111.; .John W., our 
subject; Arthur ()., who resides four miles cast of 
Coffeen and is a farmer; and Rev. Elias D., of Del- 
aware, pastor of AVilliam Street Metliodist Epis- 
cojial Church. 

The youthful d.ays of our subject were spent on 
the home place in his native county, and his lirst 
educational advantages were received in the dis- 
trict schools. Later, he attended the Normal 
School at Piqua, Ohio, and when eighteen years 
of age began learning the carpenter's trade. This 
he followed until the breaking out of the late war, 
when lie enlisted in (Jompany C, Fifteentii United 
States Infantry, as a private. He was wounded in 



the battle of Shiloh, in 1862, by a canister-shot 
and was disabled from further duty. He was dis- 
charged in 1863. and returned to his home in the 
Buckeye State. In the year 1865, he was mar- 
ried to Miss Emma Eiet, a native of Montgomery 
County, Ohio, and remained in that State until 
1872, when he decided to move to Montgomery 
County, III. After reaching the Prairie State, he 
located in Hillsboro, and there eng.aged in the car- 
penter's trade, which he followed for four years. 
In 187G, Mr. Whitlock moved his family to Cof- 
feen, where he now resides, and was engaged in 
his trade until 1890. wiien he embarked in the 
real-estate business. He is also connected with 
the Safety Loan Association, of St. Louis, and is 
carrying on a successful business. In politics, he 
is a Republican and an active worker for his party. 
He was elected .Justice of the Peace in 1890, and 
is also Notary Public. ]Mr. and Mrs. Wiiitlock aie 
consistent members of the IMethodist Episcopal 
Cliuich. Their union h.as been blessed by the 
birtli of six children, three sons and three daugh- 
ters, .as follows: Lizzie H., wife of W. H. Snider, 
of Coffeen; Mary, deceased; Wesley W., of Cof- 
feen; Maggie, deceased; Orvis B., of Coffeen; and 
Charlev .J., at home. 



— t 



m>^^<m=^-<- 



\f} OUIS SEDENTOP. It is an undeniable 
truth that the life of any man is of great 

benefit to the community in which he re- 
sides, when all his efforts are directed toward ad- 
vancing its interests, and when he lives according 
to the highest principles of what he conceives to 
be right, helping others and practicing the Golden 
Rule in very truth. Such a man is Louis Sedeu top, 
who is a self-made, prosperous and leading citizen 
of BoisD' Arc Township, where he has resided 
for forty years. His name has become a familiar 
one to the i)cople of Montgomery County, as well 
as the surrounding counties, and his genial and 
sincere nature, no less than the occupations and 
enterprises in which lie lias been eng.aged, ii.as 
tended to bring about this fesult, He is the 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



139 



fouiifler of tlic tliriviiig- villnge of Fariiieri^villo, 
and imicli crodit is due liim for its present pros- 
perity. Witliout a doubt, be bas done more for 
tbe village llian any living man. and is possessed 
of strong convictions and tlie c(.iurage to maintain 
any position lie may talve. 

Mr. Sedentop vv.is born in l.runswiciv, (iermany, 
May 3, 183;"), and liis parents, ('luistoi)lier and 
Dora Sedentop, were natives also of tbe Father- 
land. In tlie year 1852, wlien not yet of age, 
young Sedentop decided to cross tbe ocean to 
America. He toolv passage at Bremen, and fifty 
days later landed at New Orleans. From tliere lie 
went up tbe Mississip[)i River to St. Louis, wliicb 
was tben a small town, and was engaged in differ- 
ent occupations tliere. During the winter, be 
came to tbe Sucker State, and in tbe spring of 
1853 stopped in ^laconpin County for about tliree 
montbs. In 18;'):!, lie came to Montgomery County, 
this State, witb only about SlO in money. 
For several years he worked as a farm liand and 
was obliged to work very bard to get a start. He 
had received a good education in the German 
language in bis native country, and after comina 
here lie accpiiied a fair knowledge of the English 
tongue. 

His marriage witb Miss lloiiora Leonard was 
celebrated on the lOtb of JIarcli, 18;')it. She was 
•born on the green isle of Kriii, County Limerick, 
and was the daughter of Patrick and Catherine 
Leonard, both natives of Ireland. She came to 
America in 18.37. This union resulted in tbe 
birth of the following children: .lane, wife of 
Charles Clark; Josephine, Dennis. AV^illiam, Dora, 
Katie, Maggie, Nora, and Louis ]\L (deceased). 
For seven years Mr. Sedentop worked as a farm 
band for Frank Fassett, who resided near Zanes- 
ville. 111., and subsequentl}' rented land of the 
same man for over three years. During this time, 
by industry and economy, be had accumulated 
considerable means and be then purchased eighty 
acres in iMacoiipiii County. This land was un- 
cultivated and lie went earnestly to work to im- 
prove and develop it. After remaining on it for 
three years, be lemoved to Montgomery Count\-, 
and first settled on eighty acres one-balf mile west 
of bis present farm iu the spring of 18(;;i. 



All Mr. Sedentop's accumulations are tbe result 
of years of hard labor, for be is a self-made man 
in the true sense of the term, and his possessions 
have been obtained by industry, economy' and 
lierseverance on tbe part of himself and bis most 
estimable wife. He has made all the improve- 
ments on bis fine farm, and on this tbe present 
village of Farmersville was started and laid out in 
1887, Mr. Sedentop being the promoter of tbe 
same. 

"When our subject first came to America, he was ^ 
a Lutheran, but since bis marriage be has^ joingj}_^ 
tbe Roman Catholic Church, of which bis wife ifi 
also a member. In politics, be is an ardent Demo- 
crat, and takes an active interest in tbe success of 
his party. He is iiublic-spirited and enter|iiising, 
and takes a deep interest in everything pertaining 
to the public good. Mr. Sedentop is prominently 
identified with the stock-raising interests of tbe 
county, and is raising a fine grade of sliecp. All 
bis farming operations are conducted in a manner 
showing him to be a man of excellent judgment 
and much good sound sense. He has met witb the 
success attending iierseveranee and industry, and 
is now one of the substantial men of the county. 
His broad acres and bis |)leasant and attr,active 
home area standing monument to bis industry and 
good management. He is one of the most intelli- 
gent, self-made men of Montgomery County, and 
in every walk of life has conducted himself in an 
upright and bonoralile manner. 



^■^■^^e^f c 



il•^•^•^•^•i- 



='-i"{"i">'^l^'*-5"}.+F 



SAMUEL W. KESSINGEK, 15. S. Centur- 
ies ago it was said that a " iiropbet is not 
) without honor save in bis own c()Uiitry." 
This, however, seeins to have lost its force 
in the present generation in America, for talent 
and genius are recognized very ipiickly and fos- 
tered, and, it is to be regretted, flattered, until some 
times the divine spirit is lost in egotism. 

Mr. Ivessiiiger, who is the editor of the Litch- 
field Mdiiiliir. is on(' of tbe best products of the 



140 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



cit}' and one of which the cit>' is very proud. He 
was born here September 25, 1867, and is a son of 
Tliomas (J. Kcssinger, wlio was a (Honiinent set- 
tler and located here at an early day. IMr. Kes- 
singer, Sr., was born in Grayson County, Ky., 
January 1, 18:^2, liis family being of German ori- 
gin. Grandfather .Tosiah Kessinger. who is eighty 
3'ears old, still lives twelve miles southeast of 
Litchfield. On first coming to this State, he set- 
tled near Soottvilie, Macoupin County, in 1837. 
There he resided for sonic time, engaged in farm- 
ing. 

Our subject's father made his home for a num- 
ber of years with his uncle, William I!. Peebles, of 
Sliaw's Point Township, and while there learned 
the blacksmith's trade. He married Miss Rebecca 
Chene_v, of Macoupin Count3', but born in New 
York ]\I.ay 5, 1834. After his marriage lie settled 
in Zanesville, this county, and was employed at his 
trade. He came here in 18.50, when the country was 
crude, the village having been platted in 1854. 
Here lie eslablislied a blacksmith shop. He was 
in early d.ays an Abolitionist, at a time when there 
were few with those views licre, and when it cost a 
man considerable to maintain his views. In 1870, 
he engaged in the general merchandise business 
and labored actively until near the time of his 
death, which occurred May IG, 18',)0. He left a 
widow and two children: .Tosiah S., now a mer- 
chant of Raymond, and our subject. 

Samuel Kessinger acquired his early education 
while under the home roof, and then attended 
Blackburn University at Carlinville, 111. He as- 
sumed proprietorsiiip of the Monitor ]\Larch 1, 
1887, he being at that time the youngest editor in 
the State of Illinois. Mr. Kessinger carried on 
the main work of the sheet until September 1, 
1891, when he became sole owner. The paper is 
now an eight i).age, six-column quarto. Itis based 
upon the Repulilican principles as far as politics are 
concerned, but, first of all, is a newsy sheet. It 
has a wide circulation tlirough the western part 
of Montgomery County, and also through the 
eastern part of Macoupin County. 

Our subject became a benedict June 27, 1888, at 
wliicii time he was united in marriage to Miss Bes- 
sie Caldwell, of Zanesville, daughter of Dr. G. W. 



Caldwell. Two children brighten and gladden 
their home, a boy named Harold, and a little girl 
called Ruth. Both Jlr. and Mrs. Kessinger are 
members ^)f the Methodist Episcopal Church. The 
latter, like her husband, is a graduate of Blackburn 
Tniversily. 



*^s*^=* 



^ 



f^AMES T. STANSIFER. One of the most 
prominent men in the city of Litchfield, 111., 
is the gentleman whose well-known name 
opens this sketch. He represents the city 
as Alderman from the Third Ward, and is a mem- 
ber of the real-estate, insurance and loan firm of 
Wood & Stansifer. 

James T. Stansifer was born in Florence, Boone 
County, Ky., October 24, 1842. He was the son of 
Henry and Lucy (Richardson) Stansifer, and 
passed his childhood days there beneath the pa- 
rental roof. His father followed the occupation of 
carpenter, and was a man much respected in his 
community. His last days were spent in Boone 
County. 

The early education of c)ur subject was obtained 
in Boone County, but at the. age of fourteen years 
he left school and went to Auglaize County, Ohio, 
and located at "Wapakoneta, and remained in that 
town for a space of two jears. He then came to 
Ccntralia, 111., in the winter of 186(», and there en- 
listed in Company C, Twenty-second Illinois In- 
fantry, at first for State service and then for the 
three 3ears of the war. He was sent to Cairo, 
Bird's Point, and then with the Army of the Missis- 
sippi to New Madrid and Island No. 10. He was 
through the siege of Corinth (promoted to be Sec- 
ond Lieutenant), and was at Nashville under Gen. 
Palmer, and was then put into McCook's Division 
of Sheridan's Corps. He went through the 
Stone River campaign, and was one of the brave 
unfortunates who were wounded im the bloody 
field of Chickamauga. He was then discharged 
from the army for disability after a long and pain- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



141 



• fill time in .tlio hospiliil. Tliis release was obtained 
Fehniaiy 27, 18(;4, and ho then lieeame a farmer 
in Jlontgomery County in this State. This occu- 
pation he carried on until August 1, IS'.IO, wlien 
lie went into his present partnership with Mr. 
Wood in the insurance and loan luisiness. 

Mr. Stansifer still owns a farm of one hundred 
and forty acres in Zanesville Townshii), which is 
well managed, although the residence of INIr. Stan- 
sifer is in LitchtiehL lie is also part owner of the 
Wood tt Stansifer Addition, and is a stockholder 
in the Homestead Loan Association. lie is a man 
of good business qualitications, and stands high in 
the commercial circles of the county. 

On November 18, ISiK!, Miss Abigail Barnett, 
of Barnett, Montgomery County, 111., became IMrs. 
James T. Stansifer, and three interesting children 
have l)een added to the household. They are 
Stephen II., Minnie and Albert R., all line repre- 
sentatives of the Prairie State. 

The family of Mr. Stansifer are consistent mem- 
bers of the Christian Church and followers of the 
moral precepts promulgated liy the great and good 
founder, Alexander Caiii|ibell. The war recor<l of 
our subject is a tine one, and will be rememliered 
by his coniiianions in arms as well as by those who 
have prolited by the sacrilices he made. The true 
American can never grow indifferent toward her 
veteran soldiers. 







■55~ 



% ANH<:L p. W0( )I)]\rAN. One of the mo.st 
useful men in a community is the lum- 
berman and the honest dealer in all build- 
ing supiilies. The original of the name 
that ojiens this sketch carries on a business in lum- 
ber, cement and builder's hardware in the town of 
Litchfield. 111. He has been located in this |)lace 
since 1861, and has been very successful in his 
business ventures here. 

Mr. W<K)duian was born in Newburv, Essex 
County, Mass., Septcmlier 11, 1834, and was the 
son of Scwall and Ilulda (Perley) Woodman. His 



father was engaged in farming and was also a 
stone-builder and contractor, and took contracts 
for stone-work on dams and on coasts and in in- 
teriors. The grandfather was also a workman of 
the same kind, and it was he who liuilt the Boston 
milldain. The father. Sewall. remained with his 
wife in the old home in INIassacliusetts and died 
ther(! in 1888, a just man, well known and re- 
S|iecte(l. His wife only survived him three weeks. 
Our subject olitained his education at Dunimer 
Academy, a preparatory school, and after he fin- 
ished his course he came to St. Louis. There he 
engaged as a clerk m a wholesale house, dealing in 
dry goods and straw goods, and in this place he 
remained for four years. Ho tlien changed his 
location, but not his business. He went into the 
same kind of business in Louisville, Ky., and re- 
mained with that establisliment for a number of 
years and only left it in Jul \-, 1 861, to come to 
Litchfield. He was i)leased with the ajjpearance 
of the place and remained until ISf;;!, when he 
went to Alton and opened a luml)er yard with R. 
G. Perle3', which continued for sixteen years. 
Then the Litchfield yard was operated until IMTO, 
when Mr. Perley died, and our subject became .sole 
owner of the yard until he dis|i()sed of it in 1889. 
It is a large |>Iant and the iiU)st iiiip(_iitant <me in 
this i)art of the county. It was bought by the 
Litchfield Lumber Company and will be carried 
on by them. Since the sale ;\Ir. \\'oodman has 
been settling ui) his business, which in a long 
career has grown irksome. He has been interested 
in many enterprises in this little city, one of them 
being the Car Company. He was a stockholder in 
the Beach, Davis & Co.'s Bank and in the Litch- 
field Coal Company, and was among the lirst of 
those who took stock. He was trusted with sup- 
plying the furnishings of many of the large liiiild- 
ings in the town, and sold the most (.>f the mate- 
rial for the large mills. 

Mr. Woodman has been one of the useful men 
of the community. He has accei>talily held the 
|»osition of .Mderinan <if the Third WaivL and has 
been a member of the Lilirary Board, and was on 
the School Committee when he was in the Coun- 
cil, as he was known to favor all educational mat- 
ters. He was not brought up under the shadow of 



■142 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Boston witliout feeling her influence. His mar- 
riage to Miss S. M. Knowllon, of Bunker Hill, 
III., wliosc grandfather couimandecl Connecticut 
troops at Bunker Hill, Mass., was the happiest 
event in liis life, and three children have been 
born to them, but only one of these is now living, 
named Mary P. 



4^ 



^f AMES B. McDAVID, President of the Cof- 
feen Coal Company, and a prominent agri- 
culturist, stock-raiser and large land-holder 
fl of Montgomery County, 111., may be truth- 
fully said to know and be known b}' almost 
every individual in his section of the country. 
He is a native of the soil, and was born in East 
P'ork Township, March 31, 1821, and for over 
sixty-five continuous years resided wyion or within 
a few miles of the old family homestead, which 
his father located in 1819, and which has since 
been known as McDavid's I'oint. 

Tlie ancestors of our subject settled at an early 
day in Virginia. His grandfather, Patrick Mc- 
David, was a millwright by trade, and was suj)- 
poscd to be a Scotchman liy birth. William Mc- 
David, father of James B., born in 1790, left the 
Old Dominion when about sixteen years of age 
and went to Missouri, journeying afterward to 
Tennessee. During the next twelve years, he passed 
much of his time in warfare. He was a man of strong- 
principles, earnest in his convictions and unswerv- 
ing in duty. Those who are familiar with the rec- 
ord of iiis life know he fought bravely in the War 
of 1812, and again in 1815 at the battle of New 
Orleans, nor did he fear to face the savages in the 
noted Black Hawk War. 

Peace having been declared, William McDavid 
took unto himself a wife, and, traveling by slow 
stages to Montgomery County, entered one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of land in East Eork Town- 
ship. He paid the Government for his claim in 
two installments and built a little log house in 
which James B. was born. In this humble home 



the old pioneer lived for forty-six years, and died 
there in February, 1866. His death was a loss to 
the entire community, with whose pul)lic affairs he 
had so long been identified. He was a County Com- 
missioner two terms, always took an active interest 
in politics, and was ever a firm Jackson man. In 
religious belief he was a Presbyterian. 

The maiden name of our subject's mother was 
p]lizal)eth Johnson. She was born in Ohio, Sep- 
tember 20, 1800. Sharing all the privations of a 
pioneer life, she yet lived to a good old age, pas.s- 
ing peacefully away October 11, 1883. Her father, 
Jesse Johnson, was a Virginian and fonglit bravely 
in the Black llawlv War. William and Elizabeth 
McDavid had nine children and all but one grew 
to manhood and womanhood in the little log 
cabin. William C, the eldest, resides in East 
Fork Township, near his birthplace. James B. is 
the subject of our sketch. John T. has a pleasant 
home in Irving Township. Jesse J. and Nancy were 
twins, and the former fought in the Mexican war. 
In 18.52 he crossed the country to California. For 
nine years no tidings of him have reached his 
early home. Nancy w.as the wife of John H. 
Barringer. Emily J. married Joshua II. Wilson. 
Harriet M. became the wife of William B. Polland. 
Thomas W. is yet living on the old homestead. 
The daughters are all dead. 

James B. obtained a rudimentary education in 
the subscription school of the pioneer settlement. 
He assisted his father at farming until twenty- 
seven years of age. He was married February 29, 
1848, to Miss Mary A. Burke, daughter of Andrew 
and Rachael Burnett Burke. Mrs. McDavid was 
born in Smith County, Tenn., December 26, 
1827. Her parents removed to Montgomery 
Count}' when Mary was but two 3'ears old. Mr. 
and Mrs. McDavid settled upon a farm within 
sight of the old home, but in 1887 removed to 
Hillsboro where they now reside. 

Tliey have but one child, William A., burn in 
1854. This gentleman manages a Keeley Insti- 
tute at Carbondale. His wife was Miss Martha J. 
Wilson. Their son Joseph is about seventeen 
years old. Our subject is a large stockholder in 
the Loan and Trust Company's Bank of Hillsboro 
and together with his son and nephew holds the 




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PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



145 



controlling interest in the Coffeen Coal Company. 
Ml-. Mt'David has three fine farms all uiuler culti- 
vation and owns one hundred and sixty acres of 
tinibei-. lie presented his son witli a one liundred 
and sixty acre tract some time ayo. 

.Tames 1!. iMcDavid is a Denioural and held the 
ollicial position of County Treasurer ten \cars. 
He was County Assessor the same lengtli <if time 
and was the Township Assessor for two seasons. 
In the discharge of his public duties lie was ever 
prompt and faithful. Our subject is a iMason, 
member of Mt. Moriah Lodt;e No. .'il, liills- 
boro. He and ills wife are Piesbytcriaiis and in 
both social and church relations occupy a liigii 
position. 



v_'- 



/^ YRUS H. JORDAN. Elsewhere in this vol- 
(l( _ ume is given a biographical sketch of two 
^^^' of the brothers of our subject witii an out- 
line of the family histoiy, therefore we will con- 
fine ourselves in this account to the personal his- 
tory of our subject. He is a resident in Pitman 
Township, Montgomery Count,y, having a fine 
farm on section 24. Althougii a native of Mary- 
land, the major portion of his life has been spent 
in the locality where he now resides. During the 
years that have elapsed since he reached a think- 
ing age, lie has seen many changes, not only in the 
country but in the state of society and in pulitical 
reform. 

Our sulijcct spent most of his earl\' nianliood 
da_vs in Greene County, this State, and while still 
a lad became familiar with cveryihing pertaining 
to agricultural work, that having been his calling 
all his life thus far. It was he who broke the 
fir.st sod on his father's farm in Ilaivel Township, 
and for six seasons he ran a breaking plow, mak- 
ing ready for cultivation about three hundred and 
sixty-five acres of raw land each season. He i.s 
not a man who would hesitate to undertake a hard 
or disagreeable task, knowing it to be to the ad- 



vantage of the countiy or himself. Many are tlie 
pioneer scenes which he recalls, some tinged with 
humor and others pathetic in their hardship. 

The original of this sketch received his knowl- 
edge of book lore and the principles that have 
aided him in his mental development in a log 
schoolhouse in (ireene County. The conditions 
under which he studied Lindley Murray, the speller 
and the old aritlimetic, were such as to show that 
he ap|)reciated the exjiected result, for certainly 
there was no comfort in the process of acquiring 
it. The benclu's were merely slabs held up by 
wo(.iden pegs, 'i'hcrc wcrc^ no desks and no win- 
dows, the light coming from an opening made by 
tlie cutting out of a k)g. However, iMr. Jordan 
eagerly seized upon every literary production that 
came within his reach, and nian\- were tlie nights 
that he read liy the liglil: of the blazing logs in the 
fireplace. It is not always tlie man who has at- 
tended college who has the best education, but 
rather he whose mind seizes upon truth and turns 
it to his own advantage. 

Our subject has served in several official capaci- 
ties. He has been Road Commissioner of Pitman 
Township, and was one of the first School Trustees. 
He is independent in his [lolitical ideas, voting for 
principle rather than |)art,\-. His fine farm com- 
prises five liundred and eighty-five acres of land, 
where he raises most of the cereals that form the 
staples of life. He also has some good stock, for 
which he finds a ready market, and his operations 
in dealing in stock are ipiite extensive, as he buys 
and ships to Eastern markets. 

Mr. Jordan w.as married December 4, 18.)7, to 
Miss Jane R. Hankinson, a native of Ohio. Of 
eight children born of tliis union only one son 
survives, Fremont. March 2!), 1882, our subject 
married Miss Clara Hawley, who died .Innc 1,5, 
18;t0. 



0I5ERT M. ANDKIJSON. Two years .ago 
Pitman Township, MontL;oiiici-y County, 
.\\\ was roblied by death of one of her most 
^lemment citizens, a man whose interest was 
so wide extending in the affairs not oiil\- of his 




14G 



i'ORTRAlT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



liorae, but of tlie county, State and countrj' at large, 
that his loss was greatl\- felt in liis locality. 
It cannot but l)e of interest to the present genera- 
tion, as well as being a valuable lesson presented 
by the life of a good man, to here give an outline 
of his history, touciiing upon the salient features 
as connected with his public life. 

Mr. Anderson was a native of Alton, 111., and 
was born October 11, I80I. lie was a son of Peter 
and Elizabeth Anderson, who came to Pitman 
Townsliip as early pioneers. The father has been 
deceased for a number of years; the mother still 
survives, and is numbered among the oldest pio- 
neers of the county. She is a woman of strong 
and noble character, whose example and teacliing 
were well repeated in the life of her son. 

Our subject came to Montgomery' Count}- with 
his parents wlien but a small boy. The earl}' home 
was upon a farm, where the trials and self-denials 
incident to early pioneer life were thoroughl}- ex- 
perienced. He attended the district schools in the 
count}-, and grew up an intelligent and loyal citi- 
zen, ready to take his part in the active duties of 
life. Mr. Anderson was married, November 28, 
1880, to Miss Frances H. Stevens. The lady was 
a native of New York State, having been born 
February 2.3, 18.54. Her i)arents were William H. 
and Elizabeth Stevens, both natives of New York 
State. They emigrated in 1857 to Minnesota, set- 
tling in Benton County, and engaging in farming 
as picmeers. 

Five children were liorn to j\lr. and Mrs. Ander- 
son, ff)ur of wliom are living at the present time. 
Tliey aie Richard P., Harry, Grace and Robert. 
James is the deceased son. These children with 
tlie widow felt most keenly the loss of that beloved 
father and companion, to whom they owed all that 
was best and dearest in life. Wlien the black- 
winged angel hoverod over the homestead Octo- 
ber 21, 1890, and took therefrom the husband and 
father, the family was indeed bereft. The mourn- 
ing, however, was not confined to these loving 
hearts, for so highly was he esteemed in his neigh- 
borhood and locality that the grief of his passing 
away was universal. 

Of his worldly i)ossessions Mr. Anderson left 
Ills family one hundred and twentv-(ive .acres of 



land, bearing a comfortable home. He took a 
great deal of interest in the local politics of his 
section, being an ardent Republican, who left no 
stone unturned in working for his party. Mrs. 
Anderson is a member of the p]piscopal Church, and 
a most useful worker therein. Our subject's char- 
acter was noted for its integrity. He was a mem- 
ber of the Modern Workmen. In business as in so- 
cial life, he enjoyed the greatest confidence and re- 
spect of his fellow-men. Fraternally, he was a 
prominent member of the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, and his interment was conducted in 
accordance with the rites and ceremonies of that 
order. He had been a number of times delegated 
by his fellow-citizens to represent them in county 
and State conventions. 



(| f»;ILLI.\M A. NORTHCOTT, of Greenville, 
\/\/// ""'■' '* ^^*® States Attorney of Bond County, 
W^ ii'ifl the senior member of the law firm of 
Northcott & Fritz. He was born .January 28, 1854, 
in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and is the son of Gen. 
Robert S. and Mary C. (Ciuiningham) Northcott. 
The father and mother were both natives of Ruth- 
erford County, Tenn. The former received such 
limited education as could, at that early d.ay, be 
obtained in the county schools. He was a man of 
great intellectual activity, well ven-ed in all scien- 
tific and literary (juestions. and for many years 
prior to the outbreak of the Rebellion he was the 
editor of the Rutherford Telegraph, a newspaper of 
which he was the founder. He was a candidate 
on the Union ticket as a delegate to the State 
Convention w-hicli was to decide the question 
whether or not Tennessee should remain loyal to 
the Government. Before the assembling of this 
convention their work was anticip;ited by the 
Legislature of Tennessee, which was very strongly 
in favor of secession. This Legislature accordingly 
passed an ordinance by which Tennessee was placed 
on the Confederate side. Gen. Northcott's Union 
sentiments made it seem best that he should leave 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



r, 



his iintive State, which he thereforu did, guing 
Nortli to Vcvay, Ind., at wiiich iioiiit he liad i-ehi- 
tixf's. Soon after tiie train wiiicli wfisliearing him 
nortliuard liad left Nasliville, tlie authorities of 
that cit3' received a telegram from Jefferson Davis 
to arrest him, Init, luckily for (ieii. Northeott and 
his friends, the telegram came too late. 

After a few months' resideuoe in Indiana, at the 
request of Senator Carlisle, of West Virginia, (Jen. 
Northeott removed to Clarksburg, in that State, and 
there established a newspaper which he named the 
Clai'kshnrg Telpgraph, nnd which is still in existence. 
(i(iv. Pierpont, of AVest Virginia, gave (ieu. Noilh- 
cott a commission as Lieutenant-Colonel of the 
Twelfth West A'irgiiiia Regiment. lie was taken 
a prisoner of war in the battle of Winclu'ster, and 
was confined for nine months in Libby I'rison. 
Since his release, he has written many articles de- 
scril)ing his captivity. While he was there con- 
fined, (Jen. Straight, of Lidianapolis, and manj' 
others made their ineinoral)le esca|ie from the 
lirison liy means of a tunnel, (ien. IS'orthcott had 
assisted in i)lanning and digging the tunnel, but 
at the time of the esca])e was unalile to rea)i the 
fruit of his labor on account of being very ill and 
confined to his bed. He was afterward exchanged 
with other prisoners and was breveted Brigadier- 
General by the President, and at one time com- 
manded a brigade in the same division with I'res- 
ident ila\es. 

After the close of the war. Gen. Northeott tooka 
lirominent part in the politics of West Virginia and 
was elected a delegate to the National Republican 
Conventions of 1868 and 1872. For a period of ton 
years, extending from 18()8 to 1878, he was Regis- 
trar in I'ankruptcy for the Distiictof West Virginia, 
lie was an Aid-de-Camp on the staff of (Jen. Fair- 
childs, Commander-in-Chief of the (irand Army 
of the Republic, and is at present a member of tiie 
National Executive Council of that organization. 
He still resides at Clarksburg, W. \'a., at the ad- 
vanced age of sevent3'-thrce years, and has retired 
from active business. 

The paternal grandfather of our subject was llo- 
sea Northeott, who was born in Wilmington, N. C, 
and was a lnotlierof Benjamin Northeott, a Meth- 
odist mjnisterof note who lived in Kentuck\-. llo- 



sea Northeott settled in Tennessee in .•in early da\% 
and was present at the fanious duel between I'res- 
ident .Tackson and Richardson, in which affair he 
alw.ays blamed the former very much for his action. 
He never voted for the Democratic party during 
his lifetime ami his illustrious example has been 
followed by his son and grandson. Ilosea Noith- 
cott was a nephew of .lamias Northeott, of England, 
a somewhat celebrated writer of fables. His father, 
William Northeott, emigrated from England to 
North Carolina, and from him aix> descended the 
numerous families of that name now living in the 
United States. 

The mother of William A. Northeott, who bore 
the name of Mary Cunninghani before her mar- 
riage, was of Scotch ancestry, ller father. Dr., 
Cunningham, died when she was quite young. 
She was next to the youngest in a large family. 
One of her older brothers was a soldier in the War 
of 1812 and fought with Jackson at New Orleans. 
Sei)timiis, her youngest brother, was a soldier in 
the INIexican War and has never been heard from 
since that time. It has never been known whether 
he was killed in battle or taken prisoner. Her 
eldest In-other, James, like her fathci', belonged to 
the medical profession, and died at Mount Vernon, 
III., at the age of seventy-six years, leaving several 
children who now reside in that State. Mrs. 
Northcott's mother was a cousin (jf Mrs. Gen. 
Logan, who also liore the name of Mary Cunning- 
ham before her marri.age with the (ieneral. Mrs. 
Northeott was a woman of great energy and cour- 
age. While her husband was in the armv and a 
prisoner, she took care of her little family and so 
carefully managed her finances as to accumulate 
enough money to purchase a luime out of the sal- 
ary which her husband sent to her. That home- 
stead is still owned b}- the family. Her death oc- 
curred on the 5th of August, 1881, after an illness 
of several months. 

The subject of this sketch, William A. Northeott, 
is said to reseml)le his motlier very much in i)liv- 
sical appearance and is t'orlunate enough to pos- 
sess in a great degree her energy and concenti-ation 
of purpose. From his father he inherited a taste 
for literature, i>ublic speaking and writing. He 
attended schoiJ at the Xorthwi'stern .Vcadenn-, in 



148 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Clarksburg, W. Va., until thirteen years of age. 
He was then a [lage in the State Senate at Wheel- 
ing, W. "N'a., fur twojears, and there cultivated his 
taste for public speaking and his love of parlia- 
mentary- debate. In Sepleinber, 1869, he entered 
the United States Xaval Academy, at Annapolis, 
Md., where he remained until June, 1873. During 
this time, he made several voyages on the Atlantic, 
visiting parts of Europe, the Madeira Islands, and 
also going to portions of British America. From 
1873 to 1877, he taught scliool and studied law at 
Clarksburg, W. Va. In July, 1877, he was admitted 
to the Bar and after practicing law with consider- 
able success in tliat State, lie removed in June, 
1879, to Greenville, III, wliere lie has engaged in 
the practice of law up to the present time. In 
1888, the President appointed him as Supervisor 
of the Census for the Seventh l^istrict of Illinois, 
which position he filled to the great satisfaction 
of the department, and for his services received a 
very complimentary letter from Su[)t. Walker. 
In April, 1882, our subject was elected States 
Attorney of Bond County, which position he still 
liolds. In June, 1890, the President selected him 
to serve as a member of the Board of Visitors of 
the United States Naval Academy. On this com- 
mission were such distinguished men as Admiral 
Kiinberly, Senators Hale and IMaekburn, Congress- 
men Boutelle, Wallace, Rush and others. At the 
same time tlie newly-elected Senator of New 
Hampshire, Mr. Gallinger, also served on this 
board. j\Ir. Northcott was selected as the orator 
to deliver the address to the graduating class by 
the vote of this board. This was a high honor to 
be thus selected from such distinguished men. So 
well did Mr. Northcott fulfill the task assigned 
him that his address was generally considered to 
be one of the finest ever delivered on such an oc- 
casion. It was published and favorably com- 
mented upon in most of the leading papers of 
the countrv. He is an orator of considerable 
note and is always active on the stump in every 
campaign in behalf of the Uepulilican parly. In 
1884, he spoke at Centralia and Belleville with 
Gen. Logan and was continuously in the campaign 
of that year and also in that of 1888. He be- 
lieves strongly in the protective tariff and in the 



principle that the right of the Federation is superior 
to the right of the State. While he is earnestly 
devoted to the Republican part}', he is not a rad- 
ical partisan and is so fair in his relations to his 
Democratic acquaintances that he has always polled 
a large Democratic vote in his political contests. 

As a lawyer, Mr. Northcott is ver^' successful, 
being earnest and indefatigable in his labors for 
his clients, and by this means he is enabled to win 
in a large majority of cases, and is engaged on 
one side or the other of nearly every case on the 
docket of courts in this count}'. He also takes an 
active i)art in the real-estate business and is one of 
the hardest workers in Greenville, but he has his 
various business interests so systematized that they 
are all conducted in a proper manner. 

In jNIarch, 1880, Mr. Northcott married Julia A. 
Dressor, the daughter of Nathaniel Dressor, the 
largest land-owner of Bond County and President 
of the First National Bank of Greenville. Mrs. 
Northcott departed this life on the loth of March, 
1881, leaving an infant son who is still living. In 
September, 1882, our subject married his present 
wife, whose maiden name was Ada Stoutzenburg, 
of Marine, 111., and by this union has been born 
one child, Amj- Allen, now five years old. The 
child of the former marriage is Nathaniel Dressor 
Northcott. Our subject and Ins worthy lady have 
a very pleasant home and they delight to enter- 
tain their many friends and visitors. Mrs. North- 
cott is a musician of considerable reinitation and 
comes from a family noted for their musical abili- 
ties. The families of both our subject and his 
wife are members of the Kiiiscopal Church. 

Mr. Northcott had three biothers and two sisters, 
of whom all survive with the exception of one 
sister. Mrs. Naomi Everett is the Principal of the 
High School at Iluntiiigton, W. Va. In the sum- 
mer of 1890, the readers of the Cincinnati Post 
voted for the most popular lady teaclier in the 
States of Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia and Ken- 
tucky. The Post promised to give a free trip to 
Europe to the one receiving the highest number of 
votes. Mrs. Everett was the proud recipient of 
one hundred and seventy-live thousand votes and 
was therefore awarded the prize. G. A. Northcott, 
although onl}' a young man, is at the head of a 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



149 



large cluUiing t'St;ibli.slinu'nt in Huntington, W. "\'a. 
AnoLliei- brother, Robert II., is Cashier of a lianlv 
at Alvron, Colo. The ^youngest brother. EUicitt, is 
studying law in the University of ISIichigan, at 
Ann Arl)<^)r. 

On the 13th of November, 18i)0, Mr. Northeott 
was elected Head Consul of the i\Ioderii Woodmen 
of America. This places iiini at the head of the 
largest fraternal insurance society in the North- 
west, comprising in its membership fifty thousand 
of the best citizens of the States of Illinois, Mich- 
igan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North and South Da- 
kota, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. I'ntil tliesum- 
nu'r of 1888, Mr. Northcott had never been a mem- 
ber of secret societies, but since that time has 
united with the Modern Woodmen of America; 
tlie Odd Fellows; the Masons; Knights of Pythias 
and Sons of ^'eterans. 



m-^-^^i 



t^^L. 



B. MUNDAY, .lit. The gentleman of whom 
., we write is the pleasant and obliging Manager 
^^^' of the Western Union Telegraj)!! Olllce at 
Litchfield, 111., and he has held this [losition for 
nine years. 

Our subject was born in Milledgeville, Ga., June 
17, 18G3, and is the son of C. P>. and Victoria 
(Bivins) Munday. His father vvas engaged in gen- 
eral merchandising in his native i)lace. Our sub- 
ject went to South Carolina when he w.as twelve 
years old, and then by himself he made his w.ay to 
Tipton, Ind., where his education was finished. 
He went into the drug business while at Tipton, 
and remained there for two years, but in 1883 he 
caiue to this place and engaged in telegraphing. 
He had learned this craft in South Carolina, and 
from the time of his arrival he took charge of the 
oflice here. He employed then three men, but now 
the business has so increased that it is necessary to 
keep a force of five men. He has charge of the dis- 
trict between Alhambra and Siiringtield, on (he St. 
Louis (V Chicago Railroad, and the St. Louis ;ind 
I'eoria lipes, There is so much activity in this dis- 



trict that the Manager finds little time for play, 
but he has so arranged his affairs that he can real- 
ize profits from other lines of business in which he 
has a silent interest. Among these we may men- 
tion the Munday l!ros. and the Threshing Ma- 
(;hine Companies, in each of which he was one of the 
original stockholders. The former was incor]ior- 
ated early in 18;)2 with a capital stock of $1,5,- 
000, and is doing a general grain and brokerage 
business. He is also interested in the two city 
Building and Loan Associations, and in the North 
and South Chicago .Vssociation, in which he is the 
A'ice-president of the local board. 

Mr. Munday has taken a great interest in the 
educational affairs of the city, and at present is 
Seeietarv of the Board of Kducatiiui. Our subject 
was niairied .January .31, 1883, to Miss Bride 
Buseher, of Atlanta, Ind.. and three bright little 
ones are nfiw members of the family: (tUV,. Joseph 
and Mary. 

The Roman Catholic Church of St. iNIary's 
claims the family of our subject as members. In 
his dealings with his fellow-citizens, Mr. Mund.ay 
has shown a public spirit, that has made him to be 
regarded with I'espect, and in his social relations 
he is one of the principal factors of Litchfield 
society. His relations with his employers have 
been of the pleasantest nature, and their reliance 
u[)on his fidelity and ability is shown in the 
many years of service which they have required of 
him. 



^p^P^ORGE B. TRA\'E1{S. a representative 
II (^— farmer and stock-r;iiser of Pitman Town- 
\^^l ship, living on section 7, is a native of 
Dorsetshire, England, who was lK)rn December 22, 
1828, and was the son of Joseph and Eliza Travers, 
both of whom were natives of lOngland. 

Our subject was reared to years of maturity in 
his native county and was taught the |)rinci|)les 
of good farming. He went to school in England, 
but was interruptet] in his education, so tljat his 



150 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



knowledge is almost all self gained. The father 
thought that America would give the familj- better 
opportunities than did Britain, so they took ])as- 
sagc at Liverpool, England, in 1850 for the United 
States and arrived in New York City after a trip 
of twenty -four days. The "greyhounds" of the 
ocean were not yet built, and scarcely conceived of 
in tiie brains of the daring navigator. 

The destination of the Travers family was 
Macoupin County, and thither the}- came as soon 
as the}' landed in Illinois. The^' were among the 
early settlers, but the father and mother did not 
live long enough in the new land to enjoy the re- 
sults of their venture, the mother dying in 1851, 
and the father, missing her encouragement, died in 
1855. The children who survive are George B., 
Joseph, Mathew, James; Eliza, the wife of Henry 
AVeiss; and Elizabeth, the widow of John Morris. 

After arriving in Illinois, our subject began 
work on a farm, and engaged with Henry Law, of 
Macouijin County, to work for ^11 per month. 
After the death of his father, our subject as- 
sumed the management of the family, and lie- 
came their mainstay. To him they all looked 
for assistance, and nobly did he iierform the 
offices of both parents. His marriage took jilace 
June 9, 1858, to Miss Frances J. Swafford, born 
in Kentucky, the daughter of Hiram and 
Mary (Huds|)eth) Swafford, her parent;* being 
early settlers of Macoujiin County, 111. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Travers five children were born: Albert 
E., Edwin C, George E., Frederick J., and Jennie M. 

For several years after marriage our subject 
farmed as a renter in Macoupin County, but in 
1869 he moved to Montgomery County and set- 
tled on a farm, and there he now resides. He owns 
one hundred and sixty acres of land, and this is 
a reward of honest labor. He commands the re- 
spect of all who know him and his example shows 
to otiiers what may be accomplished in overcoming 
adverse circumstances. In his political opinions 
Mr. Travers is a Rc^publican and always votes 
with the parly which he thinks protects the inter- 
ests of the poor man in his efforts to better Ins 
condition. The I'atrons of Husbandry, an agri- 
cultural a.ssociation, claims Mr. Travers as a valued 
member, and for twenty years he has served his 



township as School Director. For nearly two 
years he has been the efficient Highway Commis- 
sioner of Pitman Township and for one year he 
acted as Township Collector. The success of Mr. 
Travers' life has been obtained through honest in- 
tegrity and persevering labor, and his whole career 
has marked him as a man in whom his fellow- 
citizens can take pride. 



"^=^^>^)^<S 




IQ>^ 



ON. EDWAKl) LANE. The Buckeye State 
has given to Montgomery Count}', 111., 
many estimalile citizens, but she has con- 
tributed none more highly respected, oi', 
for conscientious discharge of duty in every rela- 
tion of life, more worthy of respect and esteem 
than lion. Edvvai'd Lane, a prominent lawyer of 
Hillsboro. lie is at present Congressman of the 
Seventeenth District of Illinois, and is discharg- 
ing the duties of his oflice with ability, fidelity 
and excellent judgment. At an early age he was 
left an orphan, and it was through his own efforts 
that he acquired a good education, his entire ca- 
reer being such as to win him the respect and 
esteem of all who are favored with his acquaint- 
ance. He is a self-made man in every sense of 
the term, and although his experience in life has 
been a varied one, it is at the same time one that 
reflects only credit upon him as a man. 

Mr. Lane is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, as 
were also his parents, John and Catherine Lane, 
both of whom are now deceased, the father dying 
when a young man, or in 1846. He was a very 
successful business man, and was engaged in mer- •» 
chandising in his native city at the time of his 
death. Five children were born to their union — 
three daughters and two sons — and all grew to 
manhood and womanhood. When but four years 
of age, our subject was left an orphan, and he 
drifted along, caring for himself, until he caine to 
Montgomery County, 111., this being when he was 
about sixteen years of age. I!e first found em- 
ployment in a lively stable in Hillsboro, and then 



PORTRAIT AN[) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



151 



worked in a brickyard for some time. Realizing 
that a Vietter education was necessary, this ambi- 
tious \<)iing gentleman entered IlillslH)ro Academy, 
and iiy the money obtained b3' day work, attended 
the school for four \'ears, thus laying the founda- 
tion for his subsequent prosperims career. 

When tweiit_y-t\vo years of age, 3'oung Lane 
ciinmicnced the study of law, and at the same time 
taught a country school, to furnish him with the 
necessary funds to carry on his legal studies. On 
the 1st of February, 18fi.'), he was admitted to the 
liar, and commenced practicing in Ilillsboro, where 
many able and eminent lawyers graced the Bar. 
Thus surrounded, the young lawyer saw the difli- 
culties in his path, but with a /.eal, earnestness and 
perseverance rarely equaled, he applied himself to 
the intricate labors of his profession, and soon 
liecame one of the alile^^t lawyers in the district. 
His superior abilities being recognized, he was 
elected City Attorney in 18G7, and held that posi- 
tion several 3'ears. Two years later, he was elected 
County .ludge, and held that position for four 
years. He not only acted as .ludge, but he was a 
.ludge in every true acceptation of the term — lii'm, 
digiiitied and courteous to the memlters of the 
liar, and polite, impartial and just to litigants. It 
is safe to say that no County .ludge in Illin(iis 
ever commanded more respect, or filled the oflice 
with more distinguished ability. His decisions on 
legal (piesti<)ns always commanded the highest 
respect, and his clear, strong intellect and excel- 
lent command of the English language enaliled 
him to make the simplest luulerstand the principles 
fu UMciated. 

In the capacity of practitioner, .Judge Lane is 
eminentl3' successful. Fluent, easy .•ind strongly 
argumentative, his speeches to courts and jiu-ies 
rarely fail to carry conviction. In 1.S71, he was 
elected Supervisor, filled that oflice one term, and in 
1 ,SS(i was elected t.o Congress, and is now serving his 
third term. He is an eminent man, and an orna- 
ment to the Ik'uch and Bar of lllinius, whose sky is 
studded with so many luminousnames. Neither diu- 
ing his early struggles for an education, nor in sub- 
se(|uent years, has .ludge Lane ever gone m debt, 
and one of his I'ainiliar sayings is, '"Debt m:d<es a 
shn e of n man." lie has a beautiful residence in 



Ilillsboro, a large two-story brick, of modern 
architecture, with a lovely lawn and everything to 
render one comfortable and happy. This charm- 
ing residence is presided over by his most estima- 
ble wife, formerly Miss Tucie Miller, who became 
his wife in October, 1S7(). She is a daughter of 
Samuel K. Millei-, of Lawrenceville, 1 11. To .Judge 
and Mrs. Lane have been born two interesting 
children — a stm and a daughter — (!uy C. and 
Bessie. 






=|.j.,}..^.5.' 



•{•♦^•♦F 



ylLLI AM (iAI!TNKi;,oneof the most prom- 
inent and enterprising farmers of South 
,, ^, Litchfield Ti>wnship. resiiles on section li», 
where he has a line farm and an elegant home. 
Born in the kingdom of Prussia, on the 7th 
of November, 1.S4.">, lie passed his early youth in 
his native land. He was the youngest of the fam- 
ily of three children born unto Charles and Char- 
lotta Gartner. His father died vvhen William 
was only six months old, and his two sisters died 
ill this country. His mother mairied again, be- 
coming the wife of Heiir\- Stockamp. and to them 
was born one child. 

Our subject aequii'ed a good education in the 
schools of his native land, and in I.s.V*, when thir- 
teen years of age, came with his mother and step- 
father to Ameiica. The family loeafed in South 
Litchfield Townshi[), wIumc for a short time Will- 
iam attended the public sehools, but he was soon 
oliliged to begin life tor himself. His mother dierl 
at his home in ISi;;). Mr. Cartner entered upon 
his business career as .n farm hand, working by the 
month for live yeai-s for small wages. In 1864 
having acijuired a small (•.•4)ital, he made his first 
purchase of land, consisting of eighty acres, which 
formed the nuch-us of his (iresent line farm. He 
is now"one of the extensive farmers of the com- 
munity. His first home was a little frame house 
I'ixll feet, and in it. with him. lived his mother 
and step-father. This dwelling still stiinds upon 
the farm, and, in contrast to his present beautiful 



152 



POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and commoflious residence, indicates the enterprise 
and well-directed efforts wliicli have brouglit iiim 
success. From time to time he lias added more 
land until now he owns four hundred acres, which 
are under a high state of cultivation. All tlie ac- 
cessories of a model farm may there be found, and 
the place is complete in all its appointments. 

As a companion and helpmate on life's journey, 
Mr. Gartner chose Miss Mary Schweppe, also a na- 
tive of Prussia. Their union was celebrated in 1869 
and unto them have been born two children: Ilenr}' 
W., who was born February- 11, 1873, and William 
P'., who was born .January 5, 1877. The family are 
all members of the German Lutheran Chuich, and 
are highly i-espected people, who hold an enviable 
position in so(!ial circles. Mr. Gartner is a stanch 
Republican in politics. He has made a study of 
the historj' of the two parties and is an earnest 
advocate of the ))rinciples which he endorses by 
his ballot. He has filled the office of School Di- 
rector for a number of years, and the cause of edu- 
tion finds in him a warm friend. His success in 
life has all been acquired through his own efforts, 
and he certainly deserves great credit for the fact 
that through his industry and enterprise he has 
won the property which is to-day his. His exam- 
ple is well worthy of emulation, and we are pleased 
to enter this record of his life in tlu^ history of his 
adopted county. 



•i•=•J•=•^ 



^]i—^ N- RANDLE. The first (piesUon that 
''^^ agitates a public is the question of food 
supplies, and it can- but be admitted that 
the well-ap(iointed grocery store is the 
l)rincipal factor in solving the pi'oblcm. Due refer- 
ence is made to the sul)stanlial and well-conducted 
house of which Mr. i^indlc is the proprietor, and 
whiiih has gained in populjir favor until it is one 
of the leading concerns of the kind in the county. 
He was born in Jersey County, this State, January 
I 'J, 1842, on a farifl near the town of Jersey vUle, a 



son of James G. and Jennie (White) Randle, the 
former being of Scotch descent. Just when his 
ancestors settled in this countrj' is a matter of con- 
jecture, but there is little doubt that his grand- 
father, Peter Randle, was born in North Carolina 
about the close of the Revolutionary War. In 
that State, James G. Randle was also born, in 1811, 
and in 1820 he and his parents are found on the 
bleak prairies of Illinois, near what is now Ed wards- 
viile, Madison County. About the year 1832, 
they took up their abode in Jersey County, and 
here James G. was married to Miss White, who was 
born in tliis State, to which her, parents emigrated 
from Georgia at an early day. Both James Randle 
and his wife lived to a ripe old age, the former 
passing to his reward in Nokomis in 1879, and the 
latter in Jer.sey County about 1875. 

H. N. Randle was brought up to a knowledge of 
the calling of agriculture and received a fair com- 
mon-school education. At the age of eighteen 
years, he commenced to learn the mason's trade in 
Jerseyville, which occupation he successfully fol- 
lowed in that place and in Nokomis until about 
ten 3'ears ago, when he entered the extensive 
establishment of G. S. IJpstom, of Nokomis, as 
manager of his grocery department, whei-e he con- 
tinued for eight years, his services being very sat- 
isfactory and highly appreciated b^' his employer. 
At the end of this time, he established himself in 
the grocery and queensware business on his own 
account and brought, besides energy' and intelli- 
gence, long experience to bear, evidence of which is 
amply attested by the libersil patronage he already 
controls. To show in what high esteem he is held 
by his townsmen and fellow-citizens, it is but 
necessary to state that for four years, ending in 
the spring of 1892. he w.as Mayor of the town, and 
has held the othce of Town Clerk, Tax Collector, 
and is at present filling the office of Assessor. He 
has always been a Republican of pronounced t\pe, 
as was his father before him. His grandfalhei- 
abhorred the institution of slavery so much that it 
w.as his chief reason for leaving his native .Stale. 

H. N. Randle has been married twice, his first 
union being celebrated in 18fit in Jersey County, 
111., Miss Catherine Irwin, n dauglitei' of Samuel C. 
Irnin, becoming his wife. She was iiorn in Jersey- 




>f*^^ 't 








0^^i^-iy)>-cf 




PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



155 



C'dimiy •■iiicl (lic<l in 1.S71, leaving two cliildren, 
(uie liiiy .111(1 one girl, the t'ormei- nf wlioni. Charles, 
is a ymuiy man <if aliont twenty-four years of age, 
and is a jeweler of Lexington, III. The daughter, 
Nellie, is a young lady aged twenty-one years, 
and. having conn)leted her education, is now at 
home. Miss Delia Coon became Mr. Handle's sec- 
ond wife in llsTH. She was liorn in .lersey County, 
and is an intelligent and agreeable lady. Mr. 
Handle is active in the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows" lodge, and he is also a worthy member of 
the honorable order of the Knights of I'ythias. He 
is a whole-souled, generous and public-spirited 
gentleman, and as a business man spares no effort 
to please and satisfy each and every one of his 
numerous patrons. The premises occii|)ied by him 
are of ample dimensions and contain a fine stock of 
staple and fancy groceries, which will bear favor- 
able comparison with that displayed by any similar 
establishment in his section. Popular prices pre- 
vail and business is always done on the square. 



_0?3jVC.' 



^^Mlif-^i-i^l^^f 



WILLIAM II. BHKWKH, Vice-president of 
the Hillsboro National Bank, h.as been 
„ „ closely identified wilh all the active inter- 
ests of this city for more than half a century. He 
was l)(.)rn in Trigg County, l\y., .lanuai-y t, 182(5. 
His |)aternal grandfather. William llrewer, and his 
father, the lion. William Brewer, were natives of 
North Carolina. ( irandl'ather ISrewer was reared 
in the old Tar State, where after his marriage he 
settled with his wife on a farm, and in that iionie 
a son was born in IHO.'!. and named William. 

About 1S07 the family removed to Kentucky. 
I'athcr. mother and children, together with a few 
household effects, \vere slowly but safely trans- 
ported by wagon to their destination. William 
I'liewer, the son, w.as an adept in the daily lessons 
of pioneer life and grew up a fearless, self-made 
man, well deserving the positions of trust ac- 
corded to him in lati'r years. In those earl\' days 
every ambitious boy desired a trade; William 



Brewer learned that of a saddle and harness- 
maker, and it is safe to say that he did his work 
faithfully and well. In Cadiz, Trigg County, he 
married Delia, daughter of Samuel Hough, a na- 
tive X'lrginiaii, l)ut an early settler of Ohio. The 
mother of our subject was born in \'irginia in 
1807. 

William Brewer and his young wife lived for a 
time in Elkton, Todd County, Ky., but in l.s.'M 
removed to Crawford Coiiuty, 111., whence they 
later came to Ilillsiioro and settle(l permanently 
111 Montgomery County in IS.'!!). 3Ir. Brewer 
bought a general store, in which he conducted 
business for nine years, selling out, at that time to 
his son, William II., who had shortly before at- 
tained his majority. 

Although retired from mereantile pursuits, Mr. 
Brewer, Sr., led a busy life. He was an ardent 
Republican and took an .active interest in iiolitics. 
He served as .lustice of the Peace, was a County 
Representative, and also filled the responsible posi- 
tion of Probate Judge with honor and integrity. 
He .and his wife were lioth inemljers of the ISIetli- 
odist Chnruh, and .active in its good work. Mrs. 
Brewer died in 185;). .liidge I.rewer survived her 
many years, entering into rest in 1S8.'5. Three 
of his children lived to adult age, viz.: .Sarah E., 
wife of A. A. K. .Sawyer, of Hillsboro; Mary, who 
married S. .M. Grubbs, of Litchfield; and William 
II., the subject of oiir sketi'h. The last-named 
finishe<l his studies in Hillsboro Academy, and 
soon after attaining his majority liecamc pro- 
prietor of the general store in which he transacted 
business twelve years. .\t the expiration of that 
time, he di-^|)osed of his store and gave hi> atten- 
tion to farming and stock-raising, making the han- 
dling of Sliort-horu cattle a s|>eciall-y for a time. 

The first wife of our subject was a sist<'r of 
Judge Philli|i>. She was unitccl in marri;ige with 
Mr. Brewer November 17, 1857, and died in 18()7. 
She was the mother of four children, all of whom 
are deceased. Mr. lirewer's second marriage took 
place .luly It, 1875. His bride was the daughter 
of (i. ^^ Brookman and the widow of W. W. 
Brown. This estimable lady is a nati\e of Hills- 
boro and has two children by her first marriage: 
Kllen. wifeof Otto Walter, of Omaha; and .1. T. 



156 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPffiCAL RECORD. 



Brown, a resident of Hillsboro. Mr. and Mrs. 
Brewer have one daughter, Mary. 

Our subject owns five valuable farms, much of 
the land being under a high state of cultivation. 
Three hundred and sixt3'-four acres are located on 
section 14, Hillsboro Township; three hundred and 
twenty in East Fork Township; eighly on section 
26, Irving Township; about one hundred and 
twenty on section r>. Hillsboro Township; and 
eighty on section 34, Hillsboro Township. Besides 
these extensive fanning properties, Mr. Brewer 
owns a v.aluable business block and other city 
real estate. Following in the footsteps of his hon- 
ored father, he is a Republican in politics. He is 
a worthy member and Tiustee of the Methodist 
Church, one of the oldest religious organizations 
in tlie cit}'. Mr. and Mrs. Brewer are foremost in 
.social and church enterprises, and active in all 
good works. 



4^ 



' NDREW B. COBELAND, who is engaged 
'MOI in general merchandizing in Walsh ville, 
If li has spent his entire life in this county, hav- 
1^^ ing the honor of being one of its native 

citizens. He was born in Grisliam Township, .lune 
.30, 1835, and is a son of Samuel H. and Nanc}- 
H. (Gray) Copeland, the former a native of Ken- 
tucky, and the latter of Tennessee. Both father and 
mother came to Illinois in 1828. They were married 
in the year 1834, locating upon the farm wliere 
oursubject wasliorn. Their family numbered three 
daughters, but only one is now living: Elizabeth 
M., wife of A. T. Strange, who resides near Walsh- 
villc. The father of this family died in lH47,and 
the mother afterward became the wife of (ieorge 
Forehand. By tlieir union were born four children, 
three of wIkjiu arc yet living: Emma ()., wife of 
G. II. Webster, of Nokorais; Unity .1., wife of 
Franklin Morrison, of Soreiito, Bond County; and 
(Tcorge H.. of Denver, Colo. 

The subject of this sketch was quite delicate in 
his voutli, and as he had to ride oi) Ijcirseback five 



miles to school his educational privileges were nec- 
essarily limited, but b\' reading, observation and 
experience in later years he has made himself a 
well-informed man and keeps himself well posted 
on all Lhe current events of the day. His first 
business training was received as clerk in a drug 
store in Hillsboro, where he was employed for four 
years. In 1861, he engaged in clerking in the 
store of C. T. Hodges, of Walshville, where he was 
employed for one year, when, in 1892, he became 
proprietor of this store and is now carrying on 
general merchandising. Previousl}' he also engaged 
in agricultural pursuits tiiirty years, from 1862 to 
181)2. 

On the 1st of January, 1884, Mr. Copeland was 
married to Mrs. Sophronia Butler, nee Canon. 
They have but one child, Edgar Boone. In 
Grlsham Township they have a very pleasant 
home and the parents are highly respected citizens. 
Mr. Copeland has faithfully served liis fellow-citi- 
zens as Justice of the Peace for twelve years, was 
Treasurer of the school for a period of six years, 
and has also filled the office of Constable. In pol- 
itics he is a stalwart Republican, and in his social 
relations is a Mason, belonging to the lodge of 
Walsiiville, of which he is Treasurer. In the line 
of general merchandising, Mr. Copeland has had 
much experience. Since he started in business for 
himself, his trade has constantly increased, and by 
his fair dealing and courteous treatment he has 
secured a liberal patronage, which he certainly 
well deserves. 



!^ MLLIAM H. GUTHRIE. "All the world's 
\rJ/l a stage, and all the men and women in it 
\yxv i)layers." It matters not whether the fig- 
ure that one presents on the stage is in central 
position, or whether it is but a tiny part that goes 
10 make the whole perfect, if it is filled to the best 
of the player's ability he deserves as much credit 
flS though he were Uic hero an<l central ()erson of 



PORTRAIT AND BJOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



157 



the play. Our subject distuibs himself but little 

ovt'i' the game of chance calloil |inlilics. :ui(l leaves 
to others wiiose researches in scientitic liekls liave 
been more extended tlian his own to settle ques- 
tions that belong to tliat line. lie is c(.intent in 
doing the best he can in his own sphere; in being 
a good man, loyal to his country, a peace-loving 
and [(cace-making citizen. 

I\Ir. (lUthrie is a rei)resenlative farmer and stock- 
raiser of Ilarvel Township, Miintgomery County, 
owning a line farm on section 29. He is a native 
of (ireene County, and was born Octoljer 3, 1810, 
being a son of JMilton and Catherine (Fisher) 
Guthrie, lioth of whom were natives of Kentucky. 
Hilton Guthrie came to Illinois and located in 
Madison County with his father in boyhood, and 
there spent the major [lortion of liis life. Our 
subject is the third son in his father's family, and 
of a large family tiie following fi\e children sur- 
vive: .lolin. William II.. .loshua, Mary and Demp- 
sev. Mary is now the wife of .lohn K. Jloore. 
Mrs. Milton Guthrie still survives. She is now 
jjast eighty years of age, but retains her faculties 
to a remarkable degree. 

The .State was young when our suliject came 
hither, and its main develoi)ment has taken i)laee 
under his close observation. From a wild and un- 
cultivated prairie it has changed to a fruitful gar- 
den si)ot, worthy of the best cultivated places in 
Old England, and is possessed of a metroi)olis that 
rivals in many resjiccts the great cities of the East 
and Euiope. ()ur Mibjcrt himself has been peace- 
fully engaged all his life in the avocation of a 
farmer, his attention being directed chielly to gen- 
eral farming, while he bestows much attention on 
his line and well-selected stock. Like most of the 
youth of Illinois who grew up under |)ioneer 
auspices, his e(hn'ati(jnal a<lvantages were limited. 

Our subject was married Novemlier 1), hSG;'), his 
bride being Miss Elizabeth Martin, a native of 
(Jreene County and a daughter of .losiali and 
Eliza Martin. Six children have lilled to over- 
llowing the couple's dome>tic haiipiness. Thev 
:u(>, .lohn ()., .loseph M. (deceased ), l.uelln. Laura 
])., Dennis E. and Lizzie M. 

In the fall of 1861, our suliject came to Mont- 
gomerv County and sett|e<l in K'a\ni<i)id Town- 




ship. Me remained there for a numlier of yeais 
and then removed to Ilarvel Township, locating 
on his present farm. By his constant efforts he has 
metamorphosed the virgin prairie into its jjresent 
highly lu'oductive state. He is the owner of three 
hundred and twenty acres of land which bear 
good improvements. He has a pleasant home that 
is comfortably furnished with all the necessities 
as well as some of the luxuries of modern life. 
Politically, our subject is a stanch adherent of the 
I\e|iul}lican doctrines. He has ser\'ed his township 
as School Director and in other w.ays has [iroved 
himself a loyal citizen. 



* « r ^ I 



^ A\II) 1!. WILKINS, M. I)., is one of the 
most successful and prosperous physicians 
of thissection. His training has been med- 
ical, as his father has long been known as 
one of the most skillful practitioners of the county, 
and it is not too much tf) say. remembering his 
popularity, that he has probably inherited some of 
the qualities which have gone far to make his 
success assured. The steady nerve, the quick eye 
and the tender, sym[iathizing touch which make 
a pli^'sician so affectionately regarded, ave (lual- 
ities which no school of medicine can give, if 
the}' are not a part of the man himself. \Vith this 
introduction, we pass on to the brief sketch of the 
life of one whose past augurs well for the future. 

David IJ. Wilkins was born in Medaryville, 
Ind., JIarcli "28, 185."), and was the son of Dr. Da- 
vid Wilkins, of Greenville, 111. At the age of two 
months he was brought by his parents into IMul- 
berry Grove, this ecuinty, and later accompanied 
them in their removal into Greenville. At that 
place lie attended school, and received every ad- 
vantage until he was eighteen years of age, when 
he went into a drugstore to learn the uses of med- 
icine, aiicl hcic he remained for four years. Dur- 
ing this time he was reading medical books in the 
regular coui-se, and by the time two years of his 
drug store experience were passed he was ready to 



158 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



attend a course of medical lectures in the Missouri 
Medical College, and two years later, in 1878, he 
graduated from there. 

Looking about for a pleasant and profitable sit- 
uation, our young M. D. selected Old Ripley, in 
tliiscounty, and remained there until 1881 , at which 
time he joined his aged father in (ircenville, and 
practiced there for three years. However, his pa- 
tients at Ripley demanded his return, and he came 
back for one year, but in 1885 he came to Poca- 
hontas. September lo, 1881, he was married to Miss 
.lennie Harned, who was born in Old Kipley Town- 
shii) AjM'il 22, l.sill.and three children are now 
hnjipy little members of the Doctor's household, 
and their names are Lillian, ,lolni and Paul. 

The Doctor's practice extends over a wide extent 
of countr\-, and is constantly increasing. lie is a 
valued member of the Methodist Church, and at- 
tends upon its services and contributes to its sup- 
port. The home of Dr. Wilkins is very attr.active, 
and has lately been so re-modeled that it is most 
convenient, with office, drug room and consulting 
room in communication. He takes great interest 
in the iMasonic order, in which ho has long been 
prominent, being now Secretary' of the lodge at 
this place, and belongs to the Ancient Order of 
United Workmen, and is one of the social factors 
of his community. 



^fc^»t^i I ^ t i i ^ I 



^^NTHONY ALMOND. This part of the 
^/-J| [ Pi'airie State has (iroved a mine of wealth 
Ij Ik to thousands of industrious farmers who 
^^ have coine hither from the East and from 

foreign countries, and by dint of hard work and 
enterprise have developed the resources which na- 
ture so liberally provided. One of the salient 
features of the agriculturists of Jlontgomery 
County IS their energy and push, oi', as the Amer- 
ican puts it, "go-aheadati veness." This county 
forms a striking example of the truth of the as- 
sertion, and Mr. Almond fninishes us with a 
sti iking case in point. Like ni.'uiy of the promi- 



nent citizens of the county, he is of foreign birth, 
Su,ssex County, England, being his native place, 
and was born on the lltli of February, 1830. His 
parents, Anthonj' and Winnifred (Paine) Almond, 
■were also natives of England, where they spent 
their entire lives, the father engaged as a team- 
ster. 

The youthful days of our subject were passed 
in his native country, and not having very good 
educational advantages, he is mainly self-edu- 
cated. He early learned the teaming business, at 
which he was engaged for .some time, but seeing 
a better opening ff)r a struggling young man in 
America, he went to Liverpool in 18al and took 
passage in a vessel b(nind for this country. After 
an ocean voyage of a little over seven weeks, he 
landed in New Orleans, went from there to Mis- 
souri, and thence shortly after to .Jersey County, 
III., where he worked as a farm band for about two 
3'ears, receiving $12 per month as pay, that being 
about the average wages. While in that county, 
he subsequently farmed on rented land for some 
time, and in 1856 came to Montgomery Count\'. 
He settled on his present farm in liois D' Arc 
Township, and there he has made his home ever 
since. 

On the 17th of .lanuary, 1856, Mr. Almond was 
united in marriage with Miss Alice Stanley, a na- 
tive of New Jersey, born December 8, 1836, and 
the daughter of Thomas and Alice (Cook) .Stanley, 
natives of England. Several years previous to 
her birth, her parents took passage for America, 
located in New Jersey, where they resided until 
1845, and then removed to Jersey County, 111., 
where they |)assed the remainder of their da3-s. 
Of their cliildren four survive: Matthew C.; Jane, 
wife of Oliver Randolph; Alexia, wife of Mark 
Risley; and Mrs. Almond. One of her brothers, 
Robert Stanley, entered three hundred and twenty 
acres of land from tlie ( lovernment, and our sub- 
ject now has one hundred and sixty acres of this. 

Mr. Almond's marriage resulted in the birth of 
eight children, who are named in the order of 
their biitlis as follows: James, INIarv, (ieorge, Car- 
oline, ICtta. Ella, Kobcrt and Ilattie. When our 
subject first settled in Montgomery County, bo 
began develoiiing raw prairie land, and by Indus- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



161 



_^] 



^+^-P-- 



'jl^T'RANClS DRESSOR. The well-waleied val- 
N^^ ley of Shoal Creek Township is an admir- 
/l^ able U)falily in which to raise slock. The 

tender juicy gras-ses make the finest tissue, if they 
do not give that strengtli and endurance obtained 
from the blue limestone deposits found in tiie Blue 
Cirass region. So (uofitable is tlie business in Bond 
County, that our subject, Jlr. Dressor, gives to it 
almost his exclusive attention and lie is one of the 
most prominent faimers and stock men of the 
locality. He was born in the State of Maine, May 
.'5(1, 1827, and is one of the family' of eight children 
born to Rufus and Taniar (Cothren) Dressor. Of 
this family there are now two brotlicis and two 
sisters living, namely: .loshua P., who is a farmer 
living near Reno, and Nathaniel, a wealthy stock- 
inaTi near Wisetown.of this same county. Polly is 
the widow of the late James C'ruthis, and ()livfc is 
the wife of .1. 15. Denny, of Sorento. 

When the subject of this sketch was a lad of ten 
years of age his parents started Westward from 



try and good management soon had his jjlace in a 
good state of cultivation. The soil was rich and 
productive, the climate all that could be desired, 
and fortune favored him. Although one of the 
early settlers, he has kept thoroughly a|)ace with 
the times, and all his farming o[)erations are con- 
ducted in a thorough and progressive manner. 
His worthy wife has been a true helpmate to him, 
and as they now have suHicient of this world's 
goods, they are comfortable and happy. They are 
members of the Patrons of Husbandry at Diver- 
non, III., and are [irominent in all good work. 

In politics, i\Ir. Almond is a Democrat. Since 
coming here, he has witnessed many changes in 
the country, and has been a potent factor in its 
growth and development. Our subject has two 
brothers and two sisters living, all residing in 
England, viz.: Harriet; .Jemima, wife of (ieorge 
I'Hdridge; .lolin and Thomas, all w^)rthy and excel- 
lent citizens. 



Maine, cominghither with team, and li\ing, during 
the overland journey, in their wagon, as do the 
gypsies of to-day. After twfi months spent on the 
way they settled on a tract (jf land that is only a 
mile or so distant from Mr. Dressor's [iresent home. 

The Dressor familj- is of English extraction, 
the great-grandfather Dressor having been born in 
Engl.and in 1710. He later came and settled in 
Massachusetts, and tiiere the grandfather was born 
in 1708, and our subject's father .Inly "i!*, 1795. The 
latter died in Bond County, October 1. '5, 1858. His 
wife, who was lioni in l'"arinington. Me., February 
12, 1797, also died in lioiid County, .Inly 17, 1880. 
She was of Scotch and Irish ancestry; thus it is 
readily seen that from both sides of the family Mr. 
Dressor has the goodly inheritance of nationalities 
noted for their superior traits and natures. 

'J'lie original of this sketch was brought up on 
the home farm. He received but a limited educa- 
tion, the advantages offered in this w.ay in the 
pioneer settlements being of the scantiest and most 
ordinary character. August 23, 1853. Mr. Dressor 
took upon himself the bonds of matrimony and 
was united in marriage to ]\Iiss Martha A. Rose- 
brough, who was born in Perry County, Mo., Jan- 
uary 7, 1830. She died August 14, 1854. The one 
child that she left her husband W'as named Almira 
C. She died September 18, 1855. 

Mr. Dressor again married, January 10, 1856, the 
lady of his choice lieing Miss ;\Iary E. Rankin, a 
native of this county and State, having been here 
born March 31, 1832. I>y this union six children 
were added to the family: Emma Alice, who 
died when an interesting baby of a year old. 
Hattie also died when young. .John C., who was 
born November 6, 185() is a graduate of the State 
University of Champaign, 111., and is now Assistant 
Cashier of the Western Bank and Trust Com- 
pany, at Piedmont, S. I). .lames Rufus, who was 
born April 22, 1858, was educated at the Creen- 
ville High School, linishing at the State University 
at Cham[)aign. He married Leona Conkling, and 
they have two children. He is now engaged in the 
carriage manufacturing liusiness in Puebk), Colo. 
William F., who w.as born July IG, 1861, and who 
alM) received the advantages of a good education, 
graduating .at the 15iisiiiess College at (Ireenville. 



162 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAIHICAL RECORD. 



now looks after his father's farm. He was married 
October 2.'), 1892, to Miss Callie Car^'. Lucy J., who 
was born ;\Iareli i), 1SG6. is a graduate of the 
High School at Cxreenville, 111. and received vale- 
dictorian honors at that place. Slic for five years 
has been engaged in teaching. 

j\Ir. Dressor is a prominent figure in the Prohi- 
bition party. He was formerly a Republican, but 
although a lifelong temperance man, he felt that 
a greater stress should be laid upon the purity of 
personal life as I'egarding National politics. For 
one term he was the incumbent of tlie olHce of 
Associate County Judge. His father had held the 
office of Township Treasurer from the time the 
township was organized until his death, when 
Francis Dressor was elected. Our subject and his 
wife arc members of the Presbyterian Church, he 
having been an Elder in the same for twenty years. 
He has also Ijeen a great Sunday-school worker and 
for the past six years has been County Superinten- 
dent of Sunday-school Conventions. He is tlie 
present President of the District Sunday-school 
Association and devotes much of his time to tliis 
work. His fine farm, which comprises three hun- 
dred acres, is the site of a beautiful home, in which 
comfort reigns supreme. 



^f?OIIN PRICE, a veneralile pioneer of 
Grisham Township, Montgomerj' Count}', 
III., now residing upon section 11, is 
supposed to be the oldest settler in that por- 
tion of the country. He was born in Wayne Coun- 
ty, Ky., August 22, 1816. For three-score years 
his life has liecn full of activity and incident. 
Thrown upon his own resources at fifteen 3ears 
of age, he bravely faced the world, his sole capital 
a stout heart and willing hands. 

The father of our subject was drowned when 
John was but eight years old. His mother was a 
native of the South, and a woman of courage and 
resolution. She had borne live children and 



bravely shared the hardships of her husband's life. 
He died a poor man and left his family unpro- 
vided for. Overcoming all obstacles with patient 
endurance, tlie widow journeyed with her children 
to Illinois, locating in what is now Ilillsboro Town- 
ship. Toiling and saving to keep the wolf from 
the door, the mother yet spared a little monej' to 
send John to the subscription school in the neigh- 
borhood. 

Judge Kountree gave our subject his first em- 
ployment. The lad was handy and soon learned 
to make rails and handle the carpenter's tools. He 
made the sixteen thousand shingles that covered 
the second court house in the county. As time 
passed on he pros[iored and made a home of his 
own. Ellen N. Loving was the name of the lady 
he chose for a wife. She was born in Simpson 
Count}', Ky., JIarch 2, 1824, and was there- 
fore but seventeen years of age when she was mar- 
ried to John Price, April 22, 1841, but she had 
grown up amid the scenes of pioneer life and un- 
derstood well the ways of the household. 

Mr. Price took his young wife to a forty -acre 
farm in (Jrisham Town:^hi|i, section 9. There 
was a little log house, 12x14 feet, and a little 
log stable in the rear. Only twelve acres of the 
farm were under cultivation, the rest being un- 
broken prairie. In about a year Mr. Price traded 
this property for another farm of sixty acres on 
section 22, of the same township. Upon this farm 
our subject and his wife remained for years con- 
tented and happy. Finally the}' removed to their 
present location, on which there is some fine tim- 
ber. There was the usual primitive cabin on the 
land, and in this humble home the family dwelt 
until in 1855 Mr. Price built his present residence, 
hauling all the timber from Alton, a distance of 
forty miles. 

Mr. and Mrs. Price have had fourteen children, 
nine sons and five daughters. Of this large family 
eight survive: George W., of Montgomery County; 
Mary C, wife of D. S. Clotfelter, of Ellis, Kan.; 
John E., who is a widower and lives with his pa- 
rents; Thomas S., of Uond County 111.; Isaac K., 
of Mead Centre, Kan.; James E., of Donnellson, 
111.; Joseph A., of Montgomery County, and Martin 
C, supposed to be in Arizona. 



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



163 



The lioim'sli.-:ici li:i> now two I ui ml red and twenty- 
five acres, two liundred nf whirli ;ire under fence 
and mucli of it is liighly cultivated. IMr. Price origi- 
nally owned six hundred acres, but has given each 
of his children farms, thus materially leducing 
his own lioldings. Our sul)ject began life without 
the aid of friends or money, but he has always 
been well able to care for the little ones who came 
to him, and the great i)leasure of his latter days 
has been to start them on tlieir upward way. 

No man in the Western country has a greater 
store of valuable reminiscences than tliesul)ject of 
this sketch. Past events of pulilic and private in- 
terest are as familiar to him as liousehold words, 
lie shot deer where the town now stands, and was 
known as a skillful hunter of the early da3s. Mr. 
Price cast his first vote for IJuchanan. For several 
years lie supported the I\e|niblican ticket, then fa- 
vored the (Treenl)ack party, and now votes for the 
best man, regardless of politics. Mr. Price has been 
a Class-leader of the Methodist church for many 
years; his wife is also a valued member of the same 
persuasion, and both are interested in all religious 
enterprises. 



^=m>^^-<'^^ 




B. TRAYLOK. In compiling an account 
of the different Inisiness enterprises of 
Cott'een, 111., we desire particularly to call 
attention to Mv. Traylor, who is one of 
the successful general merchants of this thrifty 
and progressive village. Since locating here he 
has conducted affairs very satisfactorily on his own 
I'esponsiliility, and owing to the excellent stock 
which he keeps, and the fair dealings all receive 
at his own hands, he has obtained a fair share of 
jiublic favor. 

Mr. Trayk)r was born in East Fork Township, 
Montgomery County, III., NovemVier 5, l(Sr)(),and 
is a son of .loel C. and Sarah (Ohmart) Traylor, 
natives resi)ectively of Kentucky and Ohio. About 
18t4 the father came to Montgomery County, 111., 
and located in Fast Fork Township, where he 



kept a general store for forty years. In 1846, he 
married Miss Ohmart, daughter of George Ohmart, 
who was born in the Keystone State. She came 
to Montgomery County when fourteen years of 
age, and now resides on tlii^ old home place. Mr. 
Traylor died in April, l.S,S7. He was a Jackson ian 
Democrat and was deeply interested in the wel- 
fare of his party. For thirty years he was School 
Treasurer of the township, and w.as a consistent 
and worthy member of the I'niversalist Church. 
Our subject's [lalernal grandiiarents, .Tames and 
Nancy (Cardwell) Traylor, were natives of Virginia, 
and the latter was a cousin of John Randolph, of 
Roanoke. The greal-gran<lfather, 1 lumphrey Tray- 
lor, was also born in A'irginia, and was a descendant 
of a prominent family in that State, and was a 
Revolutionary soldier. 

Our subject was one of tliirteen children born 
to Ills (larents, and was reared in his native place, 
receiving a good i)raetical education in the district 
schools. At an early age he displayed much busi- 
ness acumen, no doubt inherited from his father, 
who was a very successful and popular merchant, 
and as soon as able was placed behind the counter. 
He remained with his parents until November 27, 
187t(, when he was united in marriage with Miss 
Emma D. McDavid, daughter of Rev. Thomas 
McDavid, who was a iirominent minister of Mont- 
gomery County. Mrs. Traylor was born in Flast 
Fork Township, this county, and is a lady of good 
taste and judgment. Four children have been 
I.KU'n to this union, liut one died in infancw The 
Others were Joel T., Frank A. and Nellie A. 

Mr. Traylor located in Coffeen, 111., in l.s.S.s, 
and directly afterward stai'ted in his present busi- 
ness, which he has carried on very successfully 
since. lie carries a full supi)ly of hats, caps, boots, 
shoes, clothing, groi'eries, etc., and is a pushing, 
active, energetic and enterprising gentleman, fully 
alive to the requirements of the public and ever 
anticii)ating their wants. He is held in high es- 
teem in the community for his social and business 
(pialities. He takes a deep interest in the welfare 
of the town, and is |iublic-spirited and libei-al in 
his ideas. In politics he is thoroughly identified 
with the Democratic party, and at all times advo- 
cates its princi|)les. lie has held a numlter of 



164 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



local positions, prominent among them being Town- 
ship Treasurer and Colleciter, both of which posi- 
tions lie held tive \ears. lie is a member of the 
Modern W(K>draen of America at Donnellsou. 









^j^jOBERT MACKAY, one of the old settlers of 
Bond County, now residing on section 17, 
has been very successful in life and lias de- 
served all tliat kind fortune can bestow. 
Robert Maci<ay was born here February 14, 
1829, and was the son of Alexander C. Macka}-, a 
native of Kentuck}', born March 8, 1792. The 
paternal grandfather Ixire tiie InimorLal Scotcli 
name of Walter, and was a native of Scotland, 
where he married and had several ciiildren born 
to him. He came to America and first settled in 
Virginia, but later went into Kentucky, about 1790, 
and there, near Richmond, occurred the birth of 
the father of tlie subject of this notice. At that 
time the Indians were very troublesome and made 
tlie families of the settlers feel unsafe. He died in 
Kentucky at the advanced age of eighty years. 

The father of our subject lived in Kentuck}- 
until he became a young man, and tlien spent 
about eight years in Alabama, and with a brother 
learned the trade of a wheelwright. After this 
he traveled for some time through Texas, Arkan- 
sas, Indian Nation, and finally located in Wayne 
County, 111., where lie married. In 1825, lie 
reached tiiis place and entered eighty acres from 
tlie Government, in section 7, and tliere devel- 
oped a farm. At this time the Indians were very 
troublesome, and song and story are full of the 
tales of the savage depredations of the natives, and 
thrilling stories are told of those who escaped by 
miraculous interventions; or of the captures which 
resulted in turning white children into savages 
after a life among them. Deer were still abundant, 
and the bowlings of the wolves could be heard at 
night, but our subject never used his musket for 
sport. 

Alexaiulei Macka\' worked here at his trade of 



carpenter and wheelwright, and many of the 
buildings that he erected at that time are still 
standing, testifying to the thoroughness of his 
labor. At the time of his death he owned two 
hundred and forty acres of land, although he had 
begun with nothing. The religious denomina- 
tion to which he clung was the Scotch Presbj'ter- 
ian, in which faith he was firm as a rock, while in 
politics he was a AVIiig. He was one of the vol- 
unteers who went out in the Black Hawk War, 
where he was tomahawked. 

The mother of our suliject was Mary Car- 
son, and her home had been in the State of Ken- 
tucky. She became the mother of seven children, 
as follows: Maiy, John, Eleanor, Robert, Alexan- 
der, William and Joseph; of these our sub- 
ject is the only remaining member. His beloved 
mother died February 26, 1844, aged forty-two 
years and twenty-two days. His father survived 
until July 14, 185G, when he died, aged sixtj'- 
three years, three months and twenty-eight days. 

The maternal grandfather, John Carson, was 
born in Ireland, where he married. After this event 
he came to the United States and located in the 
Carolinas, but later went into Kentucky, and later 
still into AVayne County, III. He settled here about 
182G, but subsequently removed to Barry County, 
Mo., where he died at an advanced age. By oc- 
cupation he was a farmer, though he also practiced 
medicine occasionally. Our subject was reared 
here and received the rudiments of an education 
in the pioneer log schoolliouse that every old set- 
tlei- remembers so well. Although this temple of 
learning was primitive in the extreme, yet here 
were taught the fundamental principles which 
could be applied in after-life. The Indians had 
not all passed away in his boyhood, and one of his 
duties in those days was to watch the sheep b\- 
day, and to [leii them up securely at night, in order 
to protect them from the depredations of the hun- 
gry wolves, which, itseemed to hischildi>li imagin- 
ation, howled around the CMliin by night by the 
score. At the age of twenty-four years, our sub- 
ject married Miss Margaret L. Sugg, November 17, 
1853, and of this union the following children 
were born: Mary, who married .1. T. Corrie; George 
C; Emily, who married John C. Jackson, Jr.; 





t^T-wi-^ k" 




M, 




PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Ul 




Kle;uiiii- J., wiio maiiied Leimiol llvintcr; Sanili !•"., 
IleiUT, William, Alvin. Ollie. Waltof am) Maltie, 
wiu) are doceased. 

After liis marriage, our sulijfC'l st'ltle() lieio, and 
lias now a farm of three inuKlred aeic.s, all in one 
body, and all improved except sixty aeies. which 
are in timlier. He has carried on mixed farmin"; 
and has handled a good amount of stock of all 
kind.'~. lie has himself done a great amount of 
grulibing and has cleared up and improved one 
hundred and fifty acres of land, but the hard work 
has broken him down and he has not been able to 
do much personally for the past live or six years. 
In politic^, our subject is a Ke|)ulilican, and served 
his county as Commissioner from 187;') to 1878, 
and for one term was Coroner of the county. For 
a numlier of years our subject wasTownshi|) Trus- 
tee and for twenty-five years was a School Direc 
tor, so actively did he always work in educational 
matters. His life has been crowned with success 
because he has earned it. and he now enjoys the 
respect and esteem of all with whom he has be- 
come acquainted. 



/ •^^•i-^=-h 



ON. SALMON A. PHELPS, Judge of Bond 
County-, and one of its honored and prom- 
inent residents, now i-esiding in (ireenville, 
•^ is a native of the Empire State. lie was 
born in Otsego County, .Tune 2, 1817, and is a son 
of doshua and Elizabeth (Peck) Phelps, who were 
natives of Connecticut. His father removed to 
New York about 1800, locating in Otsego County, 
where he engaged in farming, about nin(> miles 
from Cooperstown. The Phelps family is of Eng- 
lish descent, liut was founded in America at an 
early da}'. In 1848, Joshua Phelps emigrated to 
Illinois and resided in llond County until his 
death. The mother died in ( )tsego County, N. Y., 
in 181'J. They had a family of nine children, but 
only two are now living, Sarah and our subject. 
Salmon A. Phelps resided on the home farm m 



his native State until ten years of age, when he 
removed with his father to the village of Coopers- 
town, where his school life commenced. He thei'e 
remained for four years, after which he l)ecanie a 
student in the academy at liloomtield, N. .1., and 
in 1834 entered Union College at Schenectady, 
N. Y, from which he was graduated in 1838. He 
carried off the honors, being valedictorian of his 
class, which enrolled ninety-five students. This 
college was then under the leadership of Dr. Knox. 
After completing his school lite, Mr. Phelps en- 
gaged in teaching in a private academy in Stenben- 
viile, (_)hio. Iv-e leax'ing New York, in fact when 
but a boy, he rode on the old ^■anderbilt liailroad 
from Schenectady to Albany, the first road built 
in that jjart of the State. ()n lea\iug Ohio, he 
became Professor in a |)rivatc academy at Wood- 
ville, Miss., fC)r a year. While attending school 
and wlnle teaching, he devoted his leisure hours to 
the study of law, and during his residence at 
Woodville he was admitted to the Bar, in 1841, 
and continued to practice in that jilace for several 
years. 

.ludge Phelps was married in f841, toMiss Han- 
nah II. liulkley, of New York, who died in 1843, 
leaving one son, Alfred ('., who enlisted during 
the late war as a private in the One Hundred and 
Thirtieth Illinois Infantry. After a year's service, 
he was transferred to another company and made 
First Lieutenant. He is now an attorney-at-law 
of Denver, Colo. The Judge was again married, 
in 1845, his second union being with Miss Caroline 
Bulkley, a sister of his first wife. I'nto them w^ere 
Iiorn four children, one of whiun is now deceased, 
and the mother died in 1881. tieorge S., the eldest 
child, was a soldier in 18(11, and is a prominent 
lawyer of Leadville, Colo., and has been County 
Judge of Lake Count}-, Colo., for a term of four 
yeai-s. Rev. Philo F. is a Presbyterian minister, 
now of Fresno, Cal.. and Charles !}. is engaged in 
farming among the mountains of Tennessee. 

It was in 1844 that Mr. Phelps came to Bond 
County, but he did not permanently locate here 
until the summer of the followingyear. He is the 
oldest legal practitioner in the village. ( )n coining 
to this county, he purchased land in Pocahontas 
Precinct, and has always owned land in the county. 



168 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



It was not loijy lii'liue he e,~l;ililislicd a liigh repu- 
tation as a lawyer, and since tliat time he bas 
ranked as one of the leading lawj-ers of the Bond 
County Bar. During his early residence here, lie 
served foi twelve years as Justice of the Peace, 
and was attorney for the Vandalia Railroad Com- 
pany. In 1890, he was elected County Judge, and 
by his able administration of affairs bas won the 
commendations of all. His rulings are just and 
siiow careful study and thoroughly-weighed evi- 
dence. In politics, lie is a stalwart Republican, 
and probably no citizen has done more for the 
county than he. During tlie Rebellion, he was a 
stanch friend to tiie Union, and did much toward 
raising troops and fitting them for service. His 
life has been ruled b}' upright and honorable prin- 
ciples. Everywhere he goes he makes friends, and 
he is respected and loved by all who know him. 



REWER A. HENDRICKS. Among the rep- 
resentative, thorough-going and eflicient 
((W)'): officials of Montgomery County, 111., there 
^>S^ is prohalily no one more deserving of men- 
tion than Mr. Hendricks, who holds tiie resjionsi- 
ble position of County Clerk. Although retiring 
and unpretentious in manner, lie has always been 
a strong factor in the city, literally promotive of 
the community's welfare, and, honorable and up- 
right in all his relations with the public, tlie con- 
fidence in him is not misplaced. 

Like manv of the representative citizens of the 
county, he is of foreign birth, born near Berlin, 
Germany, July 2, 18.")6, and like others of that 
nationality he is industrious, frugal and warm- 
hearted. His parents were natives of the same place, 
and the same year our subject was born they came 
to America, being thirteen weeks in crossing the 
ocean. Thej' first located in Jersey County, 111., 
remained there one year and tfien moved to Ma- 
coupin County, where they resided for six years. 
From there they moved to .Montgomery County, 
Bois D'Arc Township, and there the mother died. 



Her maiden name was Mary Sunnerfeldt. The 
father is still living and resides in Yirdcn, 111. 

Fourteen children were born to them, seven sons 
and seven daughters, five sons and four daughters 
now living. Of these eiiildren our subject is the 
tenth child and sixth son. As he was but an in- 
fant when brought to America by his parents, he 
has known no other country and is as thoroughly 
an American as though born iiere. He grew to 
mature years in the Sucker State and received his 
primary education in the district schools of Mont- 
gomery County, finishing at Hillsboro Academy, 
where lie pursued his studies for three months. 
He then remained with his parents until his mar- 
riage on the 17th of May, 1882, to Miss Flora A. 
Whitlow, a native of Illinois, born in Macou[)in 
County on the 31st of May, 1862, and the daugh- 
ter of William W. Whitlow, who is now a resident 
of Montgomery County, 111. 

To our subject and wife have been born an in- 
teresting family of four children, two sons and 
two daughters, as follows: Eliza Jl.a}', Earl Ellis, 
Cora Lois (deceased), and Gu}' Curtis. Directly 
after his marriage Mr. Hendricks located in Ilarvel, 
Montgomery County, and engaged in merchandis- 
ing. Energetic, persevering and thorough-going, 
he made a complete success of this enterprise and 
continued it at that pl.ace for about four and a-half 
years. In 1880, he was elected County Clerk, and 
the same year moved to Hillsboro, where he has 
remained ever since. The duties of this ollice he 
discharged in such an able and satisfactory man- 
ner that he was re-elected to the same position in 
1890. 

In the space allotted to his sketch it is impossi- 
ble to mention in detail all the services rendered 
by Mr. Hendricks, sutlice it to say that his good 
name is above reproach and that ho has won the 
confidence, respect and esteem of all who know 
him, and is one of the most popular men who has 
ever held oHicial position in the country. While 
in Ilarvel Township, Mr. Hendricks held the office 
of Suiiervisor, Town Clerk and Sciiool Director. 
Previous to his marriage, in the winters of 1879. 
1880, 1881 and 1882 he taught school in Round 
Tree, Butler and Raymond Districts, and was un- 
usually successful as an educator. He is a mem- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



169 



bi-r of Montg-omory L<i(li;e >»o. 40, I. O. O. F., of 
Ilillshoro, and is a charter inomlier of Calyi)so 
Lodge No. 22G. K. P.. and Modern Woodmen of 
America at Ilillshoro. Mr. Hendricks is \et a 
young man in years, and his [H'ospects for the 
future seem unusually bright. 



J^ W. LINDBECK. The Sorento 7?/rt(/r% which 
^JU.\ is the most popular news medium of the 

//i 111 pretty town of Sorento, Bond County, is 
'^fj the literary child of the enter|irising tiriu (_)f 

Liudbeck it (Jlson, the senior member of the lirm be- 
ing the gentleman to whose history we devote this 
page. Mv. Lindbcck is a native of Illinois, having 
been born at Bishop Hill, Ilcnry County, August 
17, 18()2. He is a son of Lars ,T. and Christina 
(Peterson) Lindbcck, and is of Swedish ancestry. 

Lars and Christina Lindbeck left the laud of 
Thor and Woden^ and set out for the new land 
where legend is re|)laced b)- energy, landmg in 
America in 184G, having come hither in company 
with what was known as the Bishop llill Colon}^ 
This association, or colony, purchased a township 
site, but it was disorganized in 18liO. 

Our subject's father was a brick mason by trade, 
and was thus employed in his place of residence. 
There, too, young Lindi)eck was reared, and edu- 
cated in the public schools. On reaching manhood's 
estate, he was engaged in the lumber Imsiness at 
Bishop Hill, and was thus emi)loycd for live years, 
at the expiration of which time he sold out his in- 
terest and went to Lindon, Colo. 

Our subject's career as a journalist began with 
his ailvent in Lindon, where, in company with his 
brother, P. J. Lindbeck, who was a practical printer, 
he started the Lindon liu.'itlf'r. While thus con- 
nected, the young man acquired a knowledge of 
the art of |)rinting, an(L richer b^' this knowleiige, 
in 1889 he returned to Bishop Hill, and in com- 
[lany with Mr. O. B. Olson, under the lirm name of 
Lindljeck & Olson, they started an independent 
sheet called the News. This they ran for two years, 



and then, in March "of I8'.)l, they moved the 
plant to their present lield of labors, and estab- 
lished the Sorento Blade, which is also an inde- 
pendent [taper. 

Mr. IJndlieck is sole manager of the Blade at the 
l>rcsent time, the association with Mr. Olson being 
in other Inisiness affairs in Bishop Hill. The otiice 
of the Black is a busy place, for in addition to the 
large circulati(m the Blade enjoys, a large amount 
of job printing is done, for our subject is a thor- 
oughly business man, who leaves no stone un- 
turned in developing his business interests as far 
as possible. 

Mr. Lindbeck's sister Lavinia is the wife of R. 
H. Northeott, Cashier of the State Bank of Akron, 
Colo. Our subject's own domestic happiness is 
111 the keeiiing of a lady, who, prior to her 
marriage, was known as Miss Almeda C. Krans, 
a daughter of Peter O. Ivrans, a prominent busi- 
ness man of Galva, this State. Mrs. Lindbeck was 
born in Bishop Hill, September o, 18G3, and her 
marriage with our subject was celebrated October 
30, 1885. They have had four children, of whom 
three arc living, and are .as follows: Lester 
Anson, born November '20, 1887; Marguerite C, 
Ai)ril 3, LsnO; and Roy Clifford, August 20, 
1892. Fraternally, Mr. Lindbeck is a member 
of the Knights of Pythias, and also of the i\Ioderu 
Woodmen. 




;/\^\ ICHAEL PROBST, farmer of Witt, Mont- 
gomery County, 111., is a prominent agricul- 
turist and one of the representative men 
of tlie county. He and his family oc- 
cupy an assured position in Ihc social life of the 
community, and always lend sulistantial aid to 
the advancement of any social, educational or 
moral enterprise tlffit arises. Mr. Probst was born 
near Lawrenceburg, Dearborn County, Ind., April 
4, 1845, being the third in a good (jld-fashioned 
family of eleven children iKirn to John ;ind Julia 



170 



POr?TRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



(Kizer) I'lobst, tlie foimer of whom was born in 
Bavaria, (iernian\% but was brouglit to Ibis 
country when (|uite young by his father, William 
Probst, locating with him on a farm in Dearborn 
County, Ind., where lie breathed his last in the 
year 1808, his wife having passed away some 
j-ears before, or when tiie subject of this sketch 
was about eight years of age. 

From the death of his father young Michael 
was obliged to work his own way in life, and for 
some time was a farm lalwrer, during which time 
he obtained but few opportunities for securing an 
education. Seven members of the above-men- 
tioned family are residing in Illinois, but the 
others are residing in Indiana, in which State 
Michael continued to make his home until 1869, 
when the fertile prairies of Illinois induced him to 
settle in this State, and for two years after locat- 
ing here he rented land in the vicinity of Witt. 
He was then a single man, and almost every cent 
that he earned w.as put carefully by for a "rainy 
day," and when he liad accumulated a sutticient 
amount of means, he, in 1873, purchased a part 
of his now fine farm, to which he has since added 
from time to time until his estate embraces two 
hundred and forty acres of magnificent land, 
whicii he devotes to the raising of the usual agri- 
cultural products, as well as to the propagation 
i>{ enough stock to successfully carry on his farm. 
His land is cultivated in a very intelligent man- 
ner, and everything about his jilace indicates that 
he is a man of far more Uian ordinaiy ability, 
wiiose views on agricultural matters are sound 
and exceedingly practical. Tliere are excellent 
buildings upon his place, the family residence is a 
neat and attractive one, well furnished and well 
supplied with many conveniences, and the barns 
and fuitbuildings are kept in excellent repair, 
and are characterized by the tlioroughnessof finisli 
that distinguishes his entire place. 

.lust \n-u>r to purchasing his farm in 1872, he 
married Miss Annie Hand, a daughter of Josepii 
Hand, one of the wealthiest farmers in this sec- 
tion of the county, and an En^lisliinan by birth. 
To this union tliree children have been born : 
Clara, Mary, and John, all three of wiiom are at- 
tending the public schools. Mr. I'robst is quite a 



factor in the local politics of his party, and has 
always l)een a strong Republican, by which party 
he was elected a member of the County Board of 
Supervisors from his townsiiip in the spring of 
1892. Mr. Probst has been very successful in all 
his undertakings, and having ever been depend- 
ent upon his own exertions, his efforts have been 
crowned with success to a gratifying degree. 
Personally an unassuming and modest man, he 
yet commands the esteem and liking of his 
neighbors. 



" ^=^=^ 1 



1®^®! 



\^^- 



\T 



OHN H. TODT. Germany has given us many 
of our best and most industrious citizens. 
Of these Mr. Todt is one, being a promi- 
nent resident of llarvcl Township, Mont- 
gomery County. He was born in German}-, Octo- 
ber 21, 1834, and is a son of Joseph and Elizabetli 
(Miller) Todt, both of whom were natives of Ger- 
manj'. The father died when our suliject was a 
bab}', and after her bereavement tlie mother deter- 
mined to come to the New World and make a 
new life for herself and sou. Mrs. Todt died in 
Macoupin County, May 11, 1872. 

Our subject was reared in his native land until 
he had completed his eighteenth year. It was in 
1852 that he and his mother, two sisters, one 
lialf-sister and one half-brother crossed the Atlan- 
tic, taking passage on a iailing-vessel. Their trip 
over consumed nine weeks and five days, 
and the reader may be sure that they were glad to 
put foot once more on terra firma when the boat 
landed at New Orleans. They almost immediately 
proceeded to Greene County, 111., and there took 
up the labor of life in the cultivation of a farm. 
Our subject worked for five years as a farm hand, 
receiving for his labors $12 per month and his 
board. Out of this pittance, he, witli economy 
that is known only to the Germans, contrived to 
save enough to purchase some land in Macoupin 
County. There he made his home for several 
years, but came to Montgomery County in the 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



171 



spring of 1865. He has lived on liis present 
farm ever since that time. 

Mr. Todt was married Fel)ruary 23, 1857, to 
Miss Mary Poggenpohl. His wife proved to 
he a loving lioli)niate in all his career. She 
presented him with seven children, four of 
wliom are living; they are Herman, Frank, Eliza- 
beth and Margaret. The eldest daughter is now 
the wife of William Langenn, and Margaret is the 
wife of .lolm Langenn. 

Since his original purchase in this county, our 
subject has added as he has been prospered, so 
that he now owns live hundred and sixty acres of 
land. All this with the improvements his farm 
liearshave been made by mdustr}' and economy on 
the part of Mr. Todt and family, for there was 
neither golden nor silver spoons at hand at the 
birth of our subject. He has, however, made the 
most of every o|)portunity to acquire knowledge 
that h.as come within his re.ach. His excellent judg- 
ment and good common-sense have done much for 
him, and he is greatly honored and respected hv 
his town's-folk. He has served as School Trustee 
for eighteen years, and also as School Director. He 
h.as also been Supervisor of Harvel Township, 
and during his incumbency of tiiat position was 
greatly interested in developing the natural re- 
sources of the locality. Politically, ISIr. Todt 
casts the weight of his vote and influence with 
the Democratic party. In his cliurch relations he 
is a Catliolic. ISIr. Todt was Postmaster under 
.lolinson and (iraut at Ilerndon, in this township. 



-« > ^i- 



^ fiUAAXM PEACH, one of the most success- 
\/\/// '^"^ ''*"*^ prominent farmers of this locality, 
VW "'IS Iw'i i'l Randolph County, 111., Octo- 
ber 25, 1826. He has worked hard, and has ac- 
cumulated much of this world's store, and now 
owns over foiu' hundred acres of the rich land of 
the Prairie State, fiftm whirh his yields of wheal 
are so large that a stranger might ask m wonder, 



"How can beings starve, when for adequate labor 
the soil of this beautiful land fields like this?" 

The father of our subject was William Pe.acli, 
who was a native of Newbury, Vt., and was born 
October 20, 1800; his grandfather's birth took 
l)lace in Marblehead, Mass., Ma3' 31, 1777. The 
great-grandfather of our subject, named William, 
was one of two brothers who came from England 
in Colonial times and settled in Massachusetts. 
The grandfather was a sailor by profession, and 
when he tired of the sea, he made himself a home 
and adopted farming for the rest of his life. His 
first settlement was in 1817, at ^Marietta, (.)hio, to 
which place he removed his family by wagon, and 
there he lived until 1820, at which time he joined 
other neighbors and moved to Illinois. The trip 
was made down the Ohio on a flat-liont, and then 
on the Mississippi until tlie party reached Horse 
Prairie, in Randoliih County, and at this place Mr. 
Peach took up Covernment land and resided until 
his death, December 11, 1S22. 

The father of our subject was appointed Admin- 
istrator of his father's estate, and linally settled it 
to the satisf.action of all, and he there lived until 
about 1829, when he removed into St. Clair County, 
ami went to farming. At one time he owned 
five hundred acres of land, and conducted a saw- 
mill. His beginning was poor, but industry gave 
him returns, and as he was a hard-working man, 
he became very successful in age. His political 
convictions made of him an old-line Whig, and he 
took deep interest in all that went on around him 
in public life. For many years he was .lustice of 
the Peace, and w,as considered a man of probity 
and honor. His death occurred in March, 1871, 
and he was mourned by his relatives and the mem- 
bers of the Baptist Chuic:li, of which for many 
years he had been a valued member. 

The motherof oursul>ject wasPriscilla Simmons, 
who was a native of Maine, ami was born March 
2it, 1801. Her death occun-ed August 20, 1835, 
she having been the mother of four children: Lois, 
Rebecca, Sarah and William. The second marriajre 
of Mr. Peach, Sr., which united liiin with Eli/.a- 
beth (uotts, resulted in tlu^ following children: 
Samuel, .lolm, Charles, Elizabeth and Eliza A. The 
second wife died and a third lime Mr. Peach mar- 



172 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ried. This wife was Almira Simmons, who was the 
sister of his first wife, but no children were born 
of this union. 

Our subject was only three or four years old 
when the family removed to 8t. Clair County, and 
at that time the droves of deer were familiar sights 
and the wolves were numerous enough to require 
the careful shutting of the sheep pen to keep the 
animals from the stock. An occasional Indian 
wandering over the old hunting-grounds would 
appear and beg for food, but our subject never saw 
any savage ones. Their race had been about ex- 
terminated in this section, or driven toward the 
Westcin monntains, where they now occasionally 
make a feeble attempt at rebellion. The old log 
schoolhouse, which in some remote places has been 
left standing as a memento of the past, was the 
nniversity which our subject was itermitted to at- 
tend, and well does he remember the sl.ab benches 
and the ingenious contrivance of a plank resting 
against the wall, supported by ])ins of wood, upon 
which the luckless little ones placed their writing, 
books. Here, with their quill pens they learned 
to form the pot-hooks, and then the letters of the 
alphabet, and for three months in the year these 
privileges were extended. 

At the age of twenty-one, our subject was a man 
capable of managing for iiimself, and he took 
charge of the sawmill, and conducted it for a few 
years. He cleared up a farm and worked it for 
some time, and then his health failed, i)robnbly 
from too hard labor at too early an age. O 'Fallon 
needed a general store, and this seemed a fine 
opening, and he purchased a stock and opened up 
there. For live years he conducted a successful 
business, but when the war broke out all business 
stagnated, and he sold out and returned to farm- 
ing, buying one hundred and sixty acres near 
Lebanon. This he improved and worked until 
November, 1880, when he sold and liought his 
present farm. 

The first marriage of Mr. Peach took place July 
12, 1849, to Miss Malinda Leach, who was a native 
of St. Clair County, 111., and six children were 
born to them, who were William (deceased), 
Alice, Theodore, Mary, Asa and Ilcjrace. His wife 
was taken away August 16, 1864, His second mar- 



riage was with Miss Elizabeth Peach, March 15, 
1866. Her birth occurred in New Hampshire, .lune 
.3. 1828, and she came to Indiana when twenty- 
eight years old, and in 18G6 came to St. Clair 
County, m. One child, Carrie, has resulted from 
this marriage. 

Mr. Peach is a large land owner, having two 
hundred ami thirty acres here, and one liun- 
dred and seventy in Smithboro, which latter he 
rents. He has carried on mixed farming, but 
this year he rents the most of the land, upon which 
he lias made grain his principal product. Al- 
thougli ]\Ii'. Peach is a liaptist, and his wife a Con- 
gregationalist. perfect harmony reigns, both being 
good Christian people according to their own ideas 
of right. In politics, Mr. Peach is a Republican, 
and has been very prominent in public affairs, and 
was nominated for Representative in 18110, but in 
the general defeat of the party through the State 
he did not get elected. For twenty years he has 
held some scliool oflice. and now holds a member- 
ship with the Masonic order, in which he is highly 
regarded. 



!^+^ 



"S3 



''AMES ]\L\RSHALL. In every condition of 
life and in every locality where the struggle 
for a livelihood is going on, where can in- 
dependence be found more faithfully por- 
trayed, or more clearlj' demonstrated, than in the 
life of the honest, industrious farmer? To omit 
the name of Mr. Marshall from this volume would 
be to leave out one of the most promineuti and 
successful ;igriculturists of the county, who has 
not only thoroughly identified himself with the 
farming interests of this section, but by his pleas- 
ant, genial manner has won many friends. In 
former years, the life of the farmer was considered 
a laborious one, but in this progressive age, with 
such improvements in machinery, ke can do his 
work with half the dispatch or labor as in the time 
of his father, and, in fact, work but little, if anj", 
harder than the average man who strives to make 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



173 



a liviiiu-. Besides all this he is indepondent, which 
is one of the much souj^ht for conditions of life. 
Mr. ^[iu■shall is one of the successful farmers who 
have kept tlioroug'lil\' apace witli the times, and 
have readied the condition of life mentioned 
above. 

Our subject was born in Ohio, June 1!S, 1837, 
and is a son of Michael and Sarah Marshall, lie 
j^rew to mature years in liis native State and re- 
ceived his educational advantages in the common 
schools. In 1801, at the breaking out of the Civil 
War, he enlisted in Company t>, Fourloenth Mis- 
souri Infantry, and operated in Missouri, 'reiincs- 
see and Kentuck\'. lie participated in tlie battles 
of Ft. Henry, Donelson, vShiloh, siege of Corinth 
and other engagements of minor importance. Dur- 
ing service, he became ph3'sieally incapacitated and 
was lionorably discharged after having served 
nearly two years. lie receives a |)ensioii of siS [ler 
month. 

On the lirst of February, 187t;, Mr. Marshall 
married Miss Eliza Tapscott, who was born Octo- 
ber 22, 1847, and by hei' he has one son, Joseph 
E., whose birth occurred May 17, 1882. In 1809, 
Mr. Marsliall came to Illinois an<l locatcil in 
Jersey County, where he lemained for some time. 
Later, he came to Montgomery County and settled 
on his present farm, where he has since resided. 
He is tlie owner of one hundred and sixty .acres, 
has it in a fine state of cultivation, and is <me of 
the leading tillers of the soil in liis locality. IIi^ 
home is all that a cultivated mind or a cultured 
taste could wish, and on every hand are evidences 
of thrift and industr\- intelligently applied. He 
and Mrs. JMarshall are highly-resiiected members of 
society and arc well known as public-spirited and 
enterprising citizens. 

Mrs. Marshall was born in Indiana and is the 
daughter of John and Phu'be A. (Woodward) Ta|)- 
scott, both natives of the ISuckeye State. About 
1818, her iiarents came to Illinoi>, purchased a 
farm in .ler.^ey Countv, and there resiiled for a 
number of years. Later, they moved to \\'arren 
County, ()liio, and there they reside at the present 
time, both over seventy years of age. Although 
well along in years, theN' enjoy comparatively good 
Jiealth, and are a much esteemed and honored old 



couple. Charles Tapscott, IMrs. Marshall's brother, 
lost his life in the Civil A\'ar. Her mother was 
matron during the war at Camp Dennison, near 
Cincinnati, and draws a pension of ¥12 per month. 
Mr. Tapscott was also nurse in a hospital dining 
that trying war. 



_, IRAM SHKl'llKlM). The name of this 

jl much-respected citi/.en and old pioneer is 

well known in the county, for he has been 

i^j successfully engaged in the arduous duties 
of the farm in this htcality for many years, and 
now owns inie of the most prudiK'tive, best culti- 
vated tracts of 1:111(1 in the locality. He was born 
in P'illniore T(>wn^hip, Montgomery Countv, 111., 
August 18, 18.'30, and there his youthful days were 
passed. 

His father. Pleasant, Shepherd, was a native of 
the old North State and grew to manhood in that 
State. When :\. young man, he went to Kentucky 
and there married Miss Anna lirown, a native 
of the Old Dominion, but reared in Kentucky. 
After this union ]\Ir. Shepherd came direct to 
Montgomery County, III., in about the year 1827, 
and located in Fillmore Township, where he en- 
tered land from the (Jovernmeut. About 1832, 
he sold out and mo\ed back to iventuck^-, but 
after remaining there one winter he made his way 
Ixack to Jlontgomery County, III., and settled in 
what IS now North Litclilield Townslii|i. There 
he improved a good farm and resided the re- 
mainder of his days. His death occurred in 
1834, while his wife followed him to the grave in 
ISIH. Iler fathei', Kichard jh'owu, was a native 
of N'irginiaand came t.o Illinois about 1.S27. 

Iliram Shepherd was one of live children, three 
sons and two daughters, two of whom died in in- 
fancy. He was reared in his native count v and 
was lull four years of age when his fallier died. 
When he was eighteen years of age, his mother 
died, and then he started out to light life's battles 



174 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 



for himself. At first he worked by the month on 
a farm, receiving 89 i)er month for his services, 
and continued at this occupation for two years. 
He tlien began farming on shares for himself. 
In 18.52 a great desire came over liim to cross tlie 
plains to tiio land of gold. He started out with 
ox-teams, and went by way of Salt Jjake City, 
first stopping at what was then called old Hay 
Town. After reaching the Pacific coast, he en- 
gaged in raining foi- about two years and in 18.51 
returned via Panama and New York City on the 
"John L. Ste|)hons'" and the ''P.aciflc." 

After reaching the Sucker .State he farmed the 
first season, then went to North Missouri, where he 
remained but a short time. In the fall he went to 
the Lone Star State, but in 1855 returned to Illi- 
nois, where he again resumed agricultural pursuits, 
following this for aliout two 3'ears. After this he 
engaged in the sawmill business two and a-half 
miles northeast of Litchfield and followed this 
for about two years, when he traded the mill for a 
farm in North Litchfield Township. On this 
he located and remained another two years, when 
he traded it for another farm in the same township 
In 1861 he sold this and bought the place where he 
now resides, on section 26, and has since tilled the 
soil here with substantial results. He is wide-awake 
and prosperous and has displayed excellent judg- 
ment in the management of his affairs. All his 
property has been accumulated by honest toil 
and good management, and as a citizen and neigh- 
bor he has no superior. 

On the 21st of October, 1857, Miss Nancy A. 
Williams, a native of Washington County, 111., 
became his wife, and their union has beeu blessed 
by the birth of nine children, four sons and five 
daughters: Anna E., wife of (ieorge H. Barringer, 
of Fillmore, 111.;. Sarah E.,in the millinery business 
at Hillsboro, 111.; Mattie .1., wife of John Moore, 
of Fillmore Township; .lohn P., of Raymond 
Townshi]); Rosa A., at home; Lillie L., wife of J. 
L. Williamson, of Fillmore Township; Charlie 11., 
Frank and Edward E. 

Mr. Shepherd .settled uu tlic farm where he now 
resides in 1861, and on the farm w.as a little frame 
house, 16.\21 feet, and .a small log stable, winch 
have since given place to a large two-stor^' frame 



residence and substantial outbuildings. Since 
then Mr. Shepherd li.as added to his land until he 
now owns two hundred and forty acres and is en- 
g.aged in general farming and stock-raising. The 
political views of our subject have brought him in 
atfiliation with the Democratic party and he is an 
earnest upholder of its principles and policj'. He 
was School Director for twenty years or more and 
has also served as Highway Commissioner. He is 
a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church 
and one of the Trustees of the same. He is a man 
whose career has been above reproach and one 
whose honesty and uprightness have never been 
questioned. 



=^>-^^<-^ 




•J^ E. TUtJllV. To those who would have 
their cui)boards filled with those luxuries 
•A which make a table a pleasure to sit down 
' to, the name of Mv. Tuoh^' is very sug- 

gestive, for he is an extensive dealer in ponltiy 
and eggs, being the eflticient manager of the house 
which was established by A. Jordan. He was born 
in Nokomis, 111., A]n-il 2. 1863, a son of Thom.as 
and Sarah (Balton) Tuohy, both of whom were 
born on the green isle of Erin, but earl}' in life 
came to America, and first located in Worcester, 
Mass. Early in the '50s, tlie^' turned their faces 
toward the setting sun and eventuallj- located on 
the broad and fertile prairies of Illinois, and in 
1859 took up their abode in Nokomis. Here for 
twentv-five years the father was in the cmplo_y of 
the Big J'our Railroad Company. He was of a 
very energetic temperament, was industrious, per- 
severing and honorable in all his transactions, and 
was respected by a large circle of friends. 

M. E. Tuohy grew to mature years in the town 
of Nokomis, and fortunately for him received a 
liberal education in the public schools, for he in- 
herited the active brain and ([uick wit of the Irish 
race, together with the sound judgment that made 
him grasp at each and every opportunity for bet- 








^^^ 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RIX'ORD. 



177 



tering his financial condition, and the years that 
he spent in tlie acquirement of an education were 
not thrown awa_v, as lias since been proved. When 
he had attained to about the age of eighteen years, 
he followed in his father's footsteps and entered 
the employ of the Big Four Railroad C'ora|)any, 
taking a i)osition in the oflice at Nokomis, where 
he remained until May, 1885, making a trusted 
and etticient oflicial. At the above-named date, 
he received a <T0vernment appointment to the 
United States Mail Service on the A'andalia Line, 
and the following year was appointed li_v President 
Cleveland to the position of i'oslmaster at No- 
komis, a position for which he was well (pialilied 
and which he filled to the universal satisfaction 
of both political friends and opponents until the 
month of Fel>ruary, 18'.I0. To show that his services 
were satisfactory, it is but necessary to state that 
while he was a Democrat, a|)pointed to his posi- 
tion by a Democratic President, he continued to 
hold the office for a year after the Pepiiblican 
[larty came into power again. 

Our subject resigned the position of Postmaster 
and took upon his shoulders other duties, once 
more becoming an emploj'e in the ollice of the 
above-named railroad c(in)|iany at Nokomis, but 
soon afterward he was elected to the position of 
'I'own Clerk of Nok(jniis, and fdled this position 
in a very efficient manner foi' two years. In the 
spring of 1892, he resigned this position to l)ecome 
the manager for the extensive poultry and egg 
shii)ping establi^lnncut mentioncil aliove, and of 
which he has exclusive contiol. Lnder his able 
management, the company has met with un- 
liounded success, and the business is rapidly grow- 
ing in popularity. Mi'. Tut)hy is |)oliteand atten- 
tive to his patrons, and their orders are filled with 
a promptness and accuracy that are very satisfac- 
tory. System and order prevail tiiroughout, and 
everything about the jilaee indicates that Mr. 
Tuohy is the right man in tlie right place. In 
1884, he was married to Miss IMinnie Ilove^-, 
daughter of D. Hovey, who ivas for many years 
Agent of the Big Four IJailroad, .mikI t,o their union 
a bright little daughter has been given, who is now 
about five years of age and whom they hav(> 
uaraed Margery. Mr. Tuohy is a thorough biisi- 

8 



ne3.s man, is a very agreeable and s,atisfactory 
gentleman with whom to have business dealings, 
and in l-hc social cu'cles vi Nokomis is higlily re- 
garded. 



-j^.,J..>.5.^15 



il•■^•^"^•^r 



\Tr5«)DWIN W. DRESSOR, a i)rominent young 
|k*| fanner of I'lond County, and the jiresent 
^r — '-^ Supervisor of Central 'I'ownship, is located 
on a fine farm near Greenville, and is a man of 
means, intelligence and education. 

The parents of the sulijecl of this notice were 
Nathaniel and Klizalicth Dressor, who were pio- 
neers of lioiul Count}'. The father was a native 
of the I'ine Tree State, where he was born in 1825. 
The grandfather, Uufus Dressor, was a farmer by 
occupation. (Jur suljject was born near Reno, 111., 
December 12, 1854. His education w.as liegun in 
the best schools of the county, and at the age of 
thirteen he became a pupil of McKendree College 
at Lebanon, 111., from which, after completing the 
scientific course, he was graduated June 12, 187(!. 
His studies linished,he returned to the farm, and 
on l\Iarch 7, 1877, he was married to Miss Mary 
Ann Kiikland, who w.as born in INIontgomery 
County, 111. Three children were born to this 
household, the (eldest <.if whom, ( )rla K., is de- 
ceased. The surviving children are Edith iSIabel 
and ISIanclie. 

Mrs. IVLary Anil Dressor died October 21, 1887, 
and November 14, 188',t. iMr. Dressf)i' married Miss 
Lizzie Thraner, who w,as born in P.oiid County, 
III., October 10, 185'.', and one child has been born 
of this mariinge, Nathaniel Edwin. After his first 
marriage, our suliject located at this place, where 
he has twelve hundred acres of line land, all in 
one body, with the latest improvements and in the 
highest state of cultivation. He has carried on 
mixtd farming, and has raised a great numl)er of 
.■ill kinds of the best stock, having an enviable 
reputation tiirtuighoiit this locality for his fine cat- 
tle, horx's aii<l hogs. He has spared no exertion in 
(.irder to obtain the best grades of cattle and 



178 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



secure the best of improvements on liis farm. Not 
only has he embellished his own property, but he 
has also advocated improvements throughout the 
entire township. 

Our subject is very public-spirited, and is alwa^'s 
the first to favor any advanced step in tlie county, 
either in an .agricultural or educational way. In 
his political opinions, he favors the Re|)ublican 
part3-, because lie believes in that party can be 
found the iirinci pies best suited to the government 
of a great c(nintry like the United States. He is 
very poinilar in the ranks of his party, and has 
lieen honored by them in his election as Supervisor 
for the third term. During the first year of his 
service, he was elected Chairman of the Board, and 
so well did he perforin the duties of his ottice that 
this year he was honored with tlie same office. 

The >Iasonic order claims our subject as one of 
its most honored members, and he has been most 
active in its meetings. He also affiliates with the 
Modern AVorkmen at Greenville. He is a man of 
indei)endent means, and probably has made the 
major portion of his property in shipping stock 
and grain, both of which he buys extensively and 
ships to the different cities, jirincipally Chicago 
and Indianapoli.s. He is well known throughout 
the community, where he is highly esteemed. 



*ss*; 



'ill T. TOWELL was born in White County, 

li III., March 26, 1836, being the eldest in a 

'4- family of ten children born to William M. 

and Martha (Stark) Toweli, of which family 

but five members are now living: AVilliam M., who 

served for three years in the civil war as a member 

of {\)mpany L, Third Illinois Cavalry, did valiant 

work for his country, and is now a resident of 

Litchfield, 111., where he is following the calling of 

a wheelwright; Samuel L., who is now a resident 

of Kansas, also served his country in the Third 

Illinois Cavalry during the war; Charles L. resides 

in Waggoner, Montgomery County, 111.; Dora J. 



is the wife of James De Grate, of Walshville, III.; 
James H., who served with conspicuous braver^' in 
the Civil AVar for three years, is in the Tiiird Cav- 
alry, and in I8G7, wiiile a member of the Kansas 
State Militia, and fighting the Indians near Ft. 
Hayes, was massacred, being literally shot to pieces, 
and was buried near that fort. 

Isa.ac Toweli, the grandfather of the subject of 
this sketch, was born in Pennsylvania before the 
AVar of the Revolution, but in early life removed to 
Tennessee, where AVilliam 'SI. Toweli, the father 
of the subject of this sketch, was born in 1817. 
He was brought to Illinois in 183.5 and afterwards 
became a wagon-maker and farmer of AVIiite 
County. It was on his farm that the man of 
whom we write was born and reared, his early 
scholastic training being received in the common 
schools near his home. In addition to the three 
brothers above mentioned and the father who 
went forth to battle for their country during the 
perilous times of the Civil War, none donned his 
suit of blue with greater eagerness than did the 
subject of this sketch, who did good and faithful 
service during that great struggle. They were all 
members of the Third Illinois Cavalry, and during 
the last year of the war the father served as Regi- 
mental Commissary. He lived until .September 
1890, and died at AV^alshville, Montgomery County. 
I. T. Toweli answered to his country's first call for 
troops, and in April, 1861, we find his name on the 
roll of Company D, of the Seventh Illinois In- 
fantry. During this enlistment he did not leave 
the State but part of his time was spent at Cairo. 
On the 7th of August, 1862, he became a member 
of Compan3' L, of the Third Illinois Cavalry, as a 
private and for two years thereafter his compan}- 
was body-guard to different commanders of the 
Thirteenth Army Corps. He was in many of the 
bloodiest combats of the war, including Jackson, 
Champion Hills, Black River Bridge, siege of A'icks- 
burg, Franklin and Nashville, and followed Hood 
into Alabama. He was promoted in regular line, 
and for more than a year was Orderly-Sergeant of 
his company, with which rank he was mustered 
out of the service, May 22, 1865, and returned 
home without a .scratch from any implement of 
war in the hands of a rebel. 



PORTRAIT AND BlOGRAl'IIICAL RECORD. 



17!) 



Since the war lie lias devoted liis altentiim to 
agricultural pursuits in the vicinity of I>itchtield. 
III., ami is now the owner of a iiiagnificent farm 
in Witt Township, the result of his own good 
nianagenient. lie is a Repuliiican politically, has 
served a term as Collector, and for five years was 
a member of the County lioard of Supervisors. He 
is a member of tlie (Jrand Army, and is a Master 
Mason. In l.SGO. he was united in marriage to 
Miss Elizabeth Chapman, a Kentuckian by birth, 
who became a I'esideiit of Montgomery County 
early in life. To them a family of nine children 
has lieen given, who are .is follows: John W. 
is married, and is a wheelwright at Litchlield; 
Laura is tlie wife of Henry Lee, an Englishman 
by birth, and a fanner of Witt Township; Mattie 
is the wife of .lacoli liaiierla. a ftinner of Audubcui 
Township, of Montgomery County; and the follow- 
ing are at home: Nora, Ida, Eva, R. T., .lames E. 
and Maude. All these children were educated in 
the pulilic schc)ols, but Ida completed her education 
in llillsboro Academy. iMr. Towcll is one of 
nature's noblemen, and is an acquisititm to the 
locality in which he resides, for he is public- 
spirited, energetic, and liberal in the use of his 
means. 






EO ESSENTREIS is one of the oldest .set- 
j) tiers of Hdud County, and one of those who 

have made much of its unwritten liisti)i'y. 

He came here poor, and by llie energy of his ('liar- 
acter and the jierseverance of an honest man, he 
has won his way to the front rank in the wealth 
and inllnence of his section. 

The suliject of this sketch was biun in the citv 
of liadeii. in (Germany. l*'ebruary •>. IMl'7. Ilis 
father, .lohn Essen |)reis, was also a native of the 
same (ilace. and there grew up, lived his (piiet, 
unostentatious life as a farmer,- and died, after 
settling his family in America, at llio age of sev- 
enty-tliree years. The mother of our subject was 
named Elizabeth Greilick, and was born in Baden, 



where she lived with her husband, the careful 

mother of nine children, and the frugid "hausfrau" 
of her home. When she had passed her seventy- 
third year her life ended, and both she and her 
husb:nid passecl away under the comforting min- 
istrations of the Ivoman Catholic Church. The 
family came to America, and the names of the 
children were: Mary A., Elizabeth, Anton, Sophro- 
nia, Leo, Helen, John I>. and Louisa. They are 
now scattered, and their descendants are in many 
places. 

Our subject was reared on the farm in Germany- 
and came to America in li^ll, being then four- 
teen years old. His schooling was obtained in his 
native country, where, if the methods were old- 
fashioned they were thorough. The ocean trip of 
the Essenpreis fainil\- covt'rcd forty-seven days 
in an old sailing-vessel, and after landing they 
made their way to Madison County, 111., and there 
the f:ither [lurcliasi'd a f.-irm in the wilderness. At 
that time there were plenty of deer yet in the belts 
of timber, where they remained on account of the 
water, but our subject was no hunter, and did not 
molest them. He had a short season at sclu^ol after 
coming to .Vinerica, but there was too much work 
to be done, and at the age of twenty-one he took 
the responsiljili ty of. his own life upon his shoul- 
ders. 

There w.as no dilliculty then in securing work, 
and as Jlr. Essenpreis was most modest in his de- 
mands, he socui found ein|)loy[nent, and for six 
years worked by the month. For the lirst four 
years he w.as the [lossessor of $2 at the end of every 
thirty ilays, but when lu; liegan on his fifth yc^ar 
his wages were raised to the munificent sum of 
•i!iS |)er month. The ('eremony which joined Miss 
Eliz;ibet.h Kiiebel to him, for lietter or for worse, 
took place Mart-h ;!1, 18,')0. The young lady 
was a native of Baden, (iermany, and came 
to this country in 1818. She was a true and faith- 
ful wife. aii<l the mother of seven children. Her 
death occurred in 187'J, and her family were Henry, 
.lohii, David Baptist. Anna Clara and Charles Leo, 
all of wIkuu are deceased, while the living are 
Philip :ind Fritz. 

Our subject marrie<i a seciuid time, Febriuiry 2. 
1880, and his wife was Miss Kmiiia Wise, a native 



180 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of Bond County, 111. One child, William, has been 
added to the faniih' by tiiis union. After his first 
marriage, our subject located in Madison County, 
vvliere he rented land for two years and then 
came to this county, where lie bought ninety acres, 
and this was the beginning of his landed posses- 
sions. There were no improvements upon it, and 
he wont to work to build a house, and to make the 
place into something like a home. As his means 
increased, he bought more land, and at the present 
time he has six iiundrcd and forty acres, and has 
given his two eldest sons four hundred and fifty 
acres for a home of their own. Our subject has 
probabl}' done more hard work than any man in 
Bond County. He raises stock and grain, and has 
found that the wisest plan is to raise feed and (lut 
it into stock and hogs, and to sell them. 

Mr. Essenpreis moved here in 1880, and since 
that time he has lived retired and rents out his 
land. lie feels thai he has done enough hard work 
in his life. Both he and his estimable wife are 
members of the Roin.an Catholic Church, and he 
has contributed liberally of his means to the sup- 
port of the church as he has prospered. Our sub- 
ject is a Democrat now, although he voted both 
times for Lincoln, because he was opi)Osed to hu- 
man slavery. He is now pleasantl3^ located at Pier- 
ron. Bond County, and is a man who commands 
and deserves the respect of the whole neighbor- 
hood. 



■^I^UGENE L. GREENLKAF. The gentleman 
whose name we place at the commencement 

of this sketch is the eldest of seven children 

born to Edward S. and Catherine P. Greenleaf. 
His mother bears the distinction of never having 
changed her name, she being a member of a family 
bearing the same name as her husband, although 
in no way connected. Edward S. (Jreenleaf was a 
native of the State of Maine, his birth occurring 
\u October, 1837. When eight years old, his 
jiiuthcr died, and his father sought to forget this 



bereavement in the Western country, which at that 
time was so fraught with adventures and achieve- 
ments. The grandparents of Edward S. Green- 
leaf represented old Soutliern families, both on 
the father's and mother's side, and the lineage of 
the family can be traced back nearly a century, at 
which time the ancestors were prominent people 
in St. Louis, Mo., and New Orleans, La. 

Edward S. Greenleaf became interested in the 
railroad business very earl^' in life, and woiked 
his way from the bottom round of the ladder until 
lie became Superintendent of the Jacksonville & 
Southeastern Railroad, making his headquarters at 
Jacksonville. He filled this position with more 
than ordinary ability for a term of fifteen years, 
and enjoyed the reputation of being one of the 
best-posted men the companj' had at their com- 
mand. In 1889, Mr. Greenleaf resigned his posi- 
tion with the railroad compaiij-, and started in 
the grain business at Jacksonville. It is given to 
but few men to serve a master for a short lifetime, 
and then embark on an entirely new enterprise, 
feeling responsible to no one but themselves, and 
make a success in the new field. He of whom we 
are writing was blessed with more than ordinary 
ability for railroad work, and cai-ried the same 
amount of ability into the field of merchandise, 
thus making a success of his undertaking. In a 
very short time after commencing as a merchant, 
Mr. Greenleaf, Sr., was recognized as one of the 
most prosperous business men in the place where 
he had been so popular and had become so well 
known as Superintendent of a railroad. 

So much of the character of an individual is 
foreshadowed in his ancestors, that the old trite 
saying, "Like father like son," is often very 
applicable. Eugene Greenleaf, with whose name 
we commenced this biography, inherited from 
his father many of the traits that made his 
life a success. He received his education at 
Jacksonville, this State, and after concluding that 
he iiad all the knowledge necessary to help him 
toward success in the business world, he turned his 
attention to railroading. When only nineteen 
years ol<l our subject received the api)ointinent of 
Station Agent at Heno. The labors incumbent 
u))on this position were not siifticienl to keep him 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



183 



occupied, and lie soon beeiuiie interested in tlic 
grain business, wiiicii lie managed in connection 
witli liis railroad duties, and succeeded in estab- 
lishing himself as a business man. Industry and 
energy ever seek larger fields of employment, and 
our subject soon learned that one possessed of iiis 
executive ability could add other enterprises to 
those already undertaken. With this end in view, 
he started as a dealer in railroad ties, and became 
known tlirougiumt this portion of tlie State as an 
extensive dealer. He is considered one of tliebest 
business men in tliis community. His knowledge 
of affairs is extensive, and his opinions would do 
credit to one who had multiplied liis years. 

Mr. (ireenleaf is a standi supporter of the Re- 
publican party, l)ut has always been too busy with 
his business matters to give mueii attention to 
politics. Too much praise cannot l)e .accorded him 
for the way in which he lias built up his own busi- 
ness, and he has the good wishes of all who know 
him that he may reach the goal of his desires and 
enjoy the position which his talents and endow- 
ments have so eminently fitted him to fill. 

The surviving members of the family of our 
sul)ject"s fatlier are his sisters, Mrs. Alexander, 
wife of William Alexander, a grain merchant of 
Jacksonville; and ISIartha E., Grace, Catherine, 
Edward M. and Moses, who are all receiving their 
educatioi; at .laekson ville. 




W. .lOIlN.SUN, M. 1)., a very prominent 
and successful follower of the science of 
medicine, is one of Litchfield's most enter- 
prising physicians. He is also the proprietor of 
the Central Illinois Infirmary, wliiili institution is 
well and favoral)ly known throughout the State. 
Mr. Johnson hails from the fiowery slK)res of the 
celestial land of Cliina, having been lK)in in Hong 
Kong, May 17, 1848. However, lie does not be- 
long to the Mongolian race. His father, John W. 
Johnson, was a missionary of the American Haptist 



Board of Foreign Missions, and it w.as during his 
stay in the city of Hong Kong that his son C. W. 
was bt)rii. 

John .b)hnson was born in New Hampshire in 
.lauuary, 1821, but left th.nt .State when a child 
and removed to Maine. He w.as a graduate of 
Amherst College, and soon after leaving that insti- 
tution he studied theology, first as a Congrega- 
tioualist, but during Ins course he was led to 
change his views on immersion and united with 
the Haptist C'huith before his studies were com- 
pleted. In the year 1847, he chose a helpmate in the 
person of Miss Anna Stevens, who was liorn at 
P^astport, Me., and who was slightly his junior. 
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson set 
sail for China, which was to be the .scene of their 
labors. 

i\Ir. Johnson remained in the missionary service 
until his death in 1872, and devoted his entire 
life to the conversion of the heathen. In 18G0, 
he left Hong Kong and niaile Swatow his head- 
quarters, where he remained until liis death. Dur- 
ing the entire time of his residence in China, he 
made only two trips to the United States. His 
was a grand, nolile life, self-sacrificing and Christ- 
like. Any missionary deserves the res|>ect and 
esteem of all peo()le, but when a missionary is .as 
good and devout a man as 'Sh-. Johnson, no praise 
is too great. His wife, to whom he was devotedly 
attached, died when her only child, our subject, 
was born, and Mr. Johnson was left alone in a 
strange land. His body rests in the land he la- 
bored to redeem and gave his life for. Peace be 
to the ashes of such a hero. 

Our subject was sent to his mother's sister, when 
only two and one-half years old, via Liverpool to 
Amesbury, Mass., and while on the way over, the 
sliip was attacked l>y pirates and one-half the crew 
lost. In 1859, the father made a trip to America 
and took his son back with him to China, but 
young Johnson only remained there three years. 
November 11, 18(i2, he set .sail for the land of his 
adoption from Foil Chow, on the "Jacoi) licH," ;ni 
East I ndian tea shi|). When the ship had been 
out ninety-six days, they were captured by the 
rebel privateer, "Florida." and tlieir vessel was 
burned. They were kept on the "h'lorida" for 



184 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



five days and then transferred to a Danish barque 
boimd for tlie West Indies. After reaching the 
last-mentioned place, Johnson proceeded to the 
Bermuda Ishvnds, thence to Halifax, Nova Scotia, 
b3' steamer, and from there managed to reach 
Boston, March 8, 186.3, after a voyage of nearly 
four montlis. 

After our subject's second uirival in America, 
he entered school at Phauiix, K. 1., wliere he re- 
mained for one year, and tlien completed his prep- 
aration for college at Philip's Academy, Exe*;er, 
and the University Grammar School in Providence, 
K. I. He then entered a business college at the 
same place, from which he was graduated in 1867. 
Afterward, he followed steamboating for one year 
and book-keeping for one half-jear, at the end 
of which time he decided to devote his life to the 
physical needs of humanity, as his father had 
given his life to their spiritual needs. In accord- 
ance with this resolve, he began the study of med- 
icine in 1868, under the instruction of Dr. L. P. 
Babb, at Eastport, Me. His lectures were received 
at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, from 
which institution he was graduated JMarch 9, 1872. 

Upon graduation, our subject settled in East 
Machias, Me., and practiced his profession until 
the 4th of September, 1884, having built up a fine 
practice during that period. It w.as a country 
practice, however, and was so large that he was 
completely broken down attending to the demands 
made upon his time and skill. He therefore sold 
the good-will and devoted himself to special 
studies in his profession, serving as Chief Assist- 
ant to O. II. AUis, who had charge of the Ortho- 
pedic Department of Jefferson C'ollego. In addi- 
tion to his studies and the duties of his oflice, he 
carried on a jjrac'ticc in a large section of the city. 
There he remained until 1886, when he removed 
to Eit(!hfield, 111., where he has built up a fine prac- 
tice, having had the conlidence of the people from 
the lirst. 

In 1890, i)r. .lohnson puichased the Infirmary 
to accommodate the large number of patients he 
had under his care. On first going to Litchfield, 
he had purchased a residence and in that endeav- 
ored to treat such patients as required his con- 
stant care, but the house soon became too small for 



his needs, and in September, 1890, he opened this 
institution. It is always crowded, and has never 
been without occupants, with the exception of ten 
days. The knowledge that Dr. .Johnson has full 
control of the establishment is advertisement 
enough for it, as everyone has the fullest confi- 
dence in his skdland ability'. 

On the 9th of January, 1873, our subject mar- 
ried Miss Allie Ryerson,of Lubec, Me., and succeed- 
ing years have proven his choice to be a happy one. 
One child, a son, has been born of their union, 
namely': Simeon Ryersou. Dr. Johnson is very 
prominent in liis section of country, holding- 
many of the important positions of different or- 
ganizations, and is identified with the American 
Medical Association, Knights of Pythias, Knights 
Templar and Eastern St.ir. In addition to this he 
is a member of the Board of Education, and for 
three years was a Trustee of the Maine State In- 
sane Asylum, his term of oflice extending from 
1883 to 1886. He is a devout member of the 
Methodist Church, to which he contributes liber- 
ally, and his name is a s\nonym for geniality, 
intelligence and skill. All unite in praise of so 
learned and successful a man. 



I'?=2= 



*^^^l^^@!^ 



i^ 




OULTON & CORNELIUS. The enterpris- 
ing firm composed of the two gentlemen 
as given above conducts with maiked abil- 



ity the crisp and newsy sheet known as the 
daily Herald. This is also sujjplemented b^y an 
issue called the- weekly Herald. I'nder various 
managements the paper is one of the oldest es- 
tablished in the count}', but under its new pro- 
prietorsliiii it was re-cluistencd with its present 
name. 

In March, 1888, Mr. liuulton purchased the 
plant and good-will of the sheet before issued. 
He edited it alone until 1890, when he associated 
with himself Mr. W. S. Parrott, of the Raymond 
Leader, and the two papers were consolidated. The 
first issue of the daily dates from April 28, 1890. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



18o 



It is a seven-column quarto page and so ablj' is it 
editeri that it meets with a tlatternig degreeof suc- 
cess in circuhition, both local!}' and throughout the 
county. Mr. Parrott was succeeded in the associ- 
ate editorship by Mr. Cornelius, who began work 
upon the paper January 1, l.S'.ll. Under the com- 
bined efforts of the present linn, the local and ag- 
ricultural interests have little more to desire in the 
way of news. Its editorials are timely and well 
considered.while all the local items are reproduced 
with care and exactitude. The weekly paper is 
an eight-column (juarto, also having a good circu- 
lation both in Montgomery and Macoupin Coun- 
ties. 

Mr. I>oull<ju, the seni^>r editor of the ZfemVtZ, is a 
native of Boone County, Mo., where he was born 
June 2!l, 1854. He is a son of Jesse A. and Clara 
I). (Peri-ine) Boullon, both of Mason County, Ky. 
The former was born in 1817 and was, during the 
greater part of his life, engaged as a farmer. Their 
marriage took place in Kentucky-, whence they re- 
moved to Missouri. They continued their agri- 
cultural interests there until removing to Mrden, 
111., where Mr. JJoulton still lives. He is a man 
who has always commanded the respect of his asso- 
ciates and fellow-citizens. While in Missouri, ho 
held the office of County .hidge, and that State 
continued to he his home until 1891. He and his 
wife, who still survives, have reared four sons and 
one daughter, also another cliild by a former 
marriage. The children are as ft)llows: Mrs. 
J. II. Darncille, the eldest, of Chatham, 111.; Wai- 
ter E., Payne A. and John W. The half-sister 
mentioned is now Mrs. Monroe ISatonian, of Col- i 
umbia, Mo. 

Our suliject leceived his education in his native 
State and finished at the State University of Mis- 
souri, where he earned the degi-ee of L. B. in the 
Class of '77. Three years later, he added to his 
diploma the degree of M. L. Thereafter for some 
time he was engaged in teaching in the inihlic 
schools in Pioone County, Mo., and was also in the 
Christian University at Canton, Mo. He finally 
located at Hannibal, Mo., and remained there until 
June 1. 1887, when he became editor and proprie- 
tor of the Hannibal dail\' and weekly Journal. At 
the date above mentioned, he disposed of his inter- 



ests in the Journal And purchased a one-half inter- 
est in the Troy (Mo.) iVfifs, which was consolidated 
with the Free Press in January of 1888. He sold out 
his interest the following August, and two months 
later came In Lilclifield and associated himself as 
above narrated. P>esides his journalistic interests, 
he is also a stockholder in the Litchlield Thresher 
Company. While in Missouri, he was several times 
a delegate to the State Democratic conventions 
and took an active jiart in politics. Socially, Mr. 
Honlton belongs to the Independent ( )rder of Odd 
Fellows. In his church relations lie is a, member 
of the Christian organization. 



■ ^ » > * ^^ 



\Tr^,OBERT E. CORNELIUS. If so young a 
man could with projiriety be called a vet- 
'i \\\ eran, surely Mr. Cornelius deserves that 
*\@ title as applied to his career in newspaper 
work. From the tender age of eleven years, he 
has passed tlimugh all the forms and phases of 
getting out a sheet, and has worked his wav up 
from "devil" to his present i)osition as associate 
editor and imiprietor of the Litchfield daily and 
weekly Herald. 

Our subject was born May 6, 1865, in P.enton, 111., 
and is a son of Robert E. and Lou (Adams) Cor- 
nelius. The father was a hariies.s-maker by trade, 
to which the son, however, had no inclination. 
After he had received the rudiments of his educa- 
tion at Benton, he began to learn the mechanical 
part of printing in the P.enton Standard oflice at 
the age of eleven years. He continued in that 
oflice for four years and then went into the ollice 
of the Baptist Banner at Cairo. 

Mr. Cornelius first came to Litchfield in October 
of 1889. He workecJ away until .lanuarv 1, 1891, 
when he was offered an interest in the paper of 
which he is now half-owner. The dei),"utinent over 
which he has exclusive control is the niechanical 
business of the journalistic work. 

Our subject has a pleasant home, which is pre- 
sideil over by a pleasant, courteous ladv, who was 



186 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



known before her marriage as Miss Cora Biirress, 
of Benton. Their nui)tials were solemnized March 
13, 188ij. Two children bring gladness into tlicir 
household and bear the suggestive names of Dot 
and Bee. Mrs. Cornelius is a daughter of Dr.W. D. 
Burress, a well-known ph^'sician of Benton. 



I— «=1^Hh^^ 



,^^ TEPHEN K. RICE, one of the most pros- 
^^^ perous and hap[)v farmers in Pitman Town- 
IVwj)) *1''P? resides on his fine farm on section 19, 
and there enjoys the comforts and pleas- 
ures of middle age, which have been gained by 
his energy and persevering labor. The birth of our 
subject took place in JIacoupin County, 111 , March 
14, 1833. He was tlie son of a man whose memory 
is still green in this section, and he has grown 
up and done that father honor. 

William B. and Elizabeth (Cave) Rice were the 
parents of our subject, and both ancestral families 
came from below Mason and Dixon's Line. Will- 
iam B. Rice was a native of Kentucky and came 
' into Illinois in the '30s witii his family, and spent 
tlie first year in Sangamon Count}'. He then de- 
cided that this was a good State to live in and 
moved to Macoupin County, and there entered 
land on the edge of a belt of timber, knowing 
that where there were trees there would be water. 
One of the most distressing wants of the pioneers 
was the lack of water, and as IMr. Rice iiad thought 
of that i)ossibility,he selected iiisland where there 
was no fear of such a calamity. His location was 
near the site of the present village of Palmyra, 
and here he j'oked up his ox-team and went to 
work breaking the land. 

Mr. Rice became a prominent man in his lo- 
cality and served as Justice of the I'eace, a very 
important position in those days, and as one of 
tlie pioneer sciiool teaciiers of Macoupin County. 
Tiie family that he left at the time' of his death, 
in 1864, consisted of six children, four of whom 
are now living, viz: Stephen R.; lAieretia V., who 
married Daniel Ciiapman; John F. and Charles 



W. In his death Macoupin County lost one of 
her first settlers, and one of her strongest men. 
In early life lie had been a Whig, but later be- 
came a Republican. 

Stephen Rice was reared among the scenes of 
pioneer life and early learned the use of six yoke 
of oxen and a wooden raoldboard plow in break- 
ing land, and can give much information about 
the early methods of farming, because he made 
practical tests. His education was obtained in the 
subscription schools of his time, and he well remem- 
bers the log hut with its puncheon Hoors and slab 
seats. Human nature, especially boy nature, was 
probably the same tiien as now, and tliere was 
plenty of playing and little learning. The edu- 
cation which finally became his he gained in con- 
tact with the world, as he h.as always kept well 
posted on topics of general interest. 

When tlie time came for our subject to think of 
forming his own home, he prevailed upon IMiss 
Polly A. Dalton to become his wife, and they were 
married September 21, 1854, after which she took 
up the reins of his domestic affairs, and has made 
his home in all of these years a place of peace 
and pleasantness. She still continues by liis side, 
and none realizes more than he what a blessing a 
good wife can bo. The birth of Mrs. Rice oc- 
curred in Morgan County, 111., February 19, 1837, 
and she is the daughter of I sham and Rebecca 
(Ray) Dalton. Her father was a native of Vir- 
ginia and her mother was born in Xorth Carolina. 
In 1817, her jiarents started for Illinois when it 
was yet a Tenitory, and settled in Madison 
County. They resided there for a number of 
years, and then moved to Macouiiin County, and 
subsequently went into Morgan County, where 
her father mainly reared his family. He finally 
returned to Macoupin County, and resided there 
until his death, in m7.'). his wife living until 
1884. Three children survive: Lewis, Mrs. Jack- 
son Seymour, and Mrs. Rice. The occupation of 
Mr. Dalton was that of a brickmason and manu- 
facturer and farmer, and he was an early settler 
of the township. 

To Air. and Mrs. Rice two children have 
been born, William H. and John B. The acres 
of which our subject is the owner amount to 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



189 



ninety-one, and tliis fine land has been uccmnii- 
lat-ed liy tlit' eftorts of one man, assisted liy a ea- 
]ial)le and industrious wife. Tiiev are liotli val- 
ued and beloved memljcrs of the Methodist Kpis- 
coiial Churcli. in which body Mi'. Rice has long 
been a CIas.s-leadei-, and is now a Trustee and 
Steward. For twenty-one j'ears he has served as 
School Director, and for four years as Road Com- 
niissionei- of Pitman Township. 

Mr. Hicc alw.ays is in the front rank when im- 
provements in the county are suggested, and the 
society of both chuich and neighborhood would 
seem wrong and wanting if the genial presence 
of Mr. and Mrs. Rice w.'vs withdrawn. In 1859, 
Mr. Rice located on this |)lace and has iniproved 
it in every way. Ho is a Republican in polities 
and a goo<l all-r<uind man, who would be sadly 
missed b}* his neighbors and friends should he 
remove from this locality. 



,^=^ EORGE A. WEAVER is a member of the 

('ll __, extensive mercantile house of Weaver 
^^iijj tV' Edwards, of Sorento. He was born 
in Cumberland County, this State, on the 22d of 
October, 18G2, and is a son of A. D. and Eliza- 
beth A. (Armstrong) Weaver. Hut little is known 
of the ancestry of either of these families. They 
were both born in Ohio and came to Illinois about 
1H40, and when our subject was but a few months 
old they located in t'oles County, not far from 
Mattoon. There the father had a small farm, and, 
being a man of some learning, taught school in 
that locality for some years. He served during 
the late war in C<)mi)any K, of the Fifty-fourth 
Illinois Infantry, and three of his brothers also 
served in the army. 

About 1870, the family moved to (Mcenville. 
Bond Count}', where the mother expired in 1873. 
After this young Weaver had to make his own 
way in life, his father being a man of very limited 
means, lie early ai)plied himself to securing an 



education, at the same time contributing to the 
support of his two young sisters. After he was 
twenty-one years of age, he entered the (iem City 
Business College, of tiuincy, from which he grad- 
uated in 1884. lie was then tendered the posi- 
tion of book-keeper for the Colchester Coal Com- 
pany. This he accepted, remaining with them for 
a 3'ear, and then resigned the position in order 
to accept that of contidential clerk to W. S. 
Dann, the merchant prince of Southern Illinois, 
and located at (Jreenville. This position beheld 
more than four years, but our subject was not made 
of the kind of stuff that would long Ije content to 
work on a sahiry. lie wanted to forge to the 
front and be a merchant jirinee himself. 

With this end in view, Mr. Weaver came to Sor- 
ento in 1889, and with his meagre savings, in com- 
pany with a Mr. Maxey, opened a small store. He 
was possessed of business ability and ])usli, and 
the capital that he lacked to transact an extensive 
business was readily furnished by jjarties having 
not onl}' the money but unbounded confidence in 
the integrity and ability of this rising young busi- 
ness man. The partnership with Mr. Maxey lasted 
only a few months, when O. M. Edwards, a wealthy 
farmer living near Sorento, became the junior and 
silent partner in the firm, leaving the active trans- 
action of the business entirely to Mr. Weaver. 

The financial interests of the firm have reached 
goodly proi)ortions and the business is steadily 
increasing. They now carry an immense .stock 
of general merchandise, and one that would be a 
credit to a much larger town tlian is Sorentt>, yet 
the trade demands it, and this is largely due to 
the management of our suliject in his popularity 
as a tradesman. He has ever been active in what- 
ever is for the benefit of a thriving little town, 
and many of the enterprises of the place have 
found a helpful hand in this wiile-awake Inisiness 
man. 

Mr. Weaver is the eldest of a family of live 
children. His father died February 24, 1880. Of 
his brothers and sisters, Thomas lives in Oklahoma; 
•lohu is in the I'lnploy of his brother G. A.; Laura 
lives at Pocahont.as, and Ruth in St. Louis. Mr. 
Weaver was married December 1.5, 1886, to Miss 
Alice M. Presgrove, who was boru in Clinton 



190 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArmCAL RECORD. 



County, 111.. October 18, 1863. She is a daughter 
of H. F. Presgrove. Of the two children that 
have blessed this union, the eldest, Vallee W., died 
when but nuie months of age, August 3, 1888. The 
surviving child. A'ernon A., was born August 10, 
1889. Politically, our .subject conies from a strong 
Republican family, but is himself an equally ardent 
Prohibitionist and has always been a strict temper- 
ance man. 



— 5- 



- '•^ . 



:>^^<s 



(C ji^ 



dSy^ 




FREDERICK J. PANNWITT is a fair iUus- 



S tration of the advanced position which the 
young men are now occui)ying in every 
pluase of life in the United States; in fact, this 
might be called the young man's era, for never be- 
fore h.as youth taken so prominent a position in 
affairs, commercial, political and governmental, as 
at the present time. Mr. Pannwitt w.as born in 
Mecklenburg, Germany, August 31, 1860. He is 
the son of Frederick and Mary (tiaeppner) Pann- 
witt. 'I'he elder Mr. Pannwitt engaged as a farmer 
in his native land, but, seeing larger opportunities 
for his children .as well .as himself in the .States, he 
emigrated to America in 1^65. 

The Pannwitt family made their home in Chicago 
for one year. That was before the lire which came 
to the city, a blessing in disguise, and laid low the 
city by the lake so that it then bore little resem- 
blance to the great metropolis of the present time. 
From Chicago the family removed to Efiingham 
Count}', and located on a farm, doubtless the 
best place for bringing up a young man, and there 
our subject giew to manhood. He attended the 
district school until eighteen years of age, and 
then, considering himself equipped for the strug- 
gle of life, he determined to set out for liimself, 
and accordingly went to Missouri anil located at 
Bland, a country crossroads in (Jascon.ade County. 
AV'liile here he entered a blacksmith shop in order 
to learn the trade, and gave three years of his time 
to making himself master of the business. 

In the spring of 1882, the subject of this sketch 



came to Xokomis and entered the employ of J. L. 
F'reasier, with whom he continued until .hmuary 
1, 188.5. lie then purchased his employer's inter- 
est and continued the business in his own name. 
He has brought to it all the energy and ability of 
his nature and mind, and lias lieen very successful 
ill every effort he has thus far made. 

Immediately after establishing himself in business 
on his own account, Mr. Pannwitt was married to 
Miss iSIargaret C. Essmann, their marriage being 
celebrated February 24,, 1885. Their home is one 
of the finest residences in Nokomis, and was built in 
1891. Mrs. Pannwitt has brought all her t.act and 
taste to bear in making this an ideal home for her 
husband and child. She presides over the place 
with much grace, which shows to admirable advan- 
tage her natural alilily. Mrs. Pannwitt is a native 
of Missouri. One child, Edwin F',, a bright little 
boy of five years of age, gladdens the house with 
his winsome presence. Truly the family life as en- 
joyed by our subject is a very gr.icious one, well- 
ordered and prosperous, and bears the benediction 
of a truly religious uplifting. Mr. Pannwitt is a 
man of more than ordinary ability, deeiily respec- 
ted by all who know him, and is a true type of 
the German gentleman. He is an exemiilary mem- 
ber of the Methodist Church, and is a strict tem- 
perance man. Politically, he pins his faith to the 
garment of no party, but votes as he believes to be 
for the best interests of his country, ind('])eiident 
of platff)rm or local interest. 



j,{.,5.,{.,5.(^j^^^,5.,5.,}„3.|-- 



^•{••{•{••J' 



•^•&*Sa*^p^ 



[j-^ ENRY GRUBE, a retired farmer residing 
|l in Greenville, claims Pennsylvania as the 
State of bis nativity. Lancaster County 
^ is the pLace of his birth, and the dale Seii- 
tember 1, 1823. He is a son of John and Anna 
(Summy) Grube, natives of Lancaster County. 
The father was a farmer by occupation, and fol- 
lowed that business throughout his entire life. 
In 1836, he removed to Clarke County, Ohio, 
where he purchased five hundred acres of land, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



191 



makinu u Ikiuic IIickoh until his death, wliich oc- 
ciin-ed on thu 2(1 of N'oveiiilier. 1880. His wilV 
survived liiin for about five years, and died i'NIareli 
10, 1885. The paternal grandparents of our suli- 
jeet. .laeob and Susan (Wayland) Grube, were also 
liorn in Lancaster County. The former, who was 
of Swiss descent, was a boot and shoe maker by 
trade, but also engaged in farming. The mateinal 
grandfather of our subject was Christian Summy, 
who was engaged in keo[)ing a hotel, and also fol- 
lowed farming. He was liorn in Lancaster County, 
where the birth of his wife, whose maiden name 
was Catherine IMnsselman, also occurred. 

The subject (if this sketch had no sisters and but 
one brother, Aartin. who w.as killed when twenty 
years of age in a railroad disaster in ]Montg(,>7nery 
County, Ohio. Henry spent his b(iyhood days 
upon his father's farni,'and ac(inired his education 
in Pennsylvania. He remained at iiome until 
twenty-fovu- years of age. when was celebrated his 
marriage with IMiss Margaret J. Ilumiibreys, of 
Clarke County, Ohio, daughter of .lames and 
''atherine IIum|ihreys. They began their domes- 
tic life upon a farm in Clarke C(^)nnly, and Mr. 
(irube there continued .agricultural pursiiits from 
1818 until 1868, when he removed to Springlield, 
Ohio, and there lived a retired life for two years. 
He then went to ,Tas)ier County, 111., where he en- 
gaged in farming upon three hundred and forty- 
live acres of land for si.\ months. Upon the ex[)i- 
ralion of that [leriod, he removed to Clinton 
Conntv and purchased a tract of land of one hun- 
dred and thirty-seven acres, of which fifty are situ- 
ated in this county, although it is all in one body. 
He made his home tliereon from 1870 until 1H78, 
when he returned to Ohio to take care of his 
parents, and remained in the Buckeye State until 
the 20th of .lune, 1880. lie then again came to 
his farm in Illinois, and since 1887 he has been a 
resident of Greenville. He also owns one hun- 
dred and sixty-four acres in LaGrange Town- 
ship. 

In 1887, Mr. (Jrube was called upon to mourn 
the lossof his wife, who had borne him seven chil- 
dren, four of whom are yet living: Charles H. 
married Kate Wliitaker, of Crawford County, 111., 
and is engaged in the drug business; Dr. Robert 



H., a practicing physician, married Miss Margaret 
Ki'nshaw, of Dayton, ( )., and is now living in 
Pittsburgh, Pa.; Aaron C. a mert'hant of Fair 
Haven on Puget Sound, and George, a book agent 
for the Riverside Publishing Ihjuse of St. Louis. 

Mr. (irube 's second marriage was celebrated in 
1870, when INIrs. Emma L. Noe, of Grant Cotuity, 
^Vis., became his wife. She is a daughter of .lo- 
seph and Mary A. Hall. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
(irube are leading members of the Presbyterian 
Church, and she is one of the earnest Christian 
workers of Illinois. In the church she serves as a 
Deaconess, is a member of the Missionary Societv, 
and until last year was President of the Woman's 
Christian Temperance Union of the county. Mr. 
Grulie is also a warm advocate of temperance 
principles, and votes with the Prohibition party. 
He is now living a retired life, enjoying a well- 
earned rest and a hands(une competence, which 
has lieen acipiiicd through his industrious and 
well-directed efforts. On coming to (ireenville he 
purchased an acre of land, and owns one of the 
finest homes in the city. 



•^^=•^=^•^ 



:;iF.V. IILNRY I5KCKKR, 1). D., a widely 
,„.i' known and highly esteemed priest of Soutli- 
ii^ \V em Illinois, and for many years an arduous 
laborer in various parishes of the State, is 
now the spiritual adviser of the Roman t'atholic 
Church in Ilillsboro, Montgomery County, 111. 
Ilis presence is a familiar one in scenes of sor- 
row and distress, especially among the members 
of his own congregation, but he is a public-spirited 
man, libei-al in sentiment, and, desiring the nuitual 
welfare of the entire community which surrounds 
him, has won the conlidence and respect of all 
good citizens, irrespective of church or party aflil- 
ialions. 

Father Becker was born in Westphalia, Ger- 
many, July 1, 1856. His father, Henry Becker, 
and his mother. Flizabeth (IJelirens) Becker, were 



192 



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



both natives of tlie province which gave our 
subject birth. In the home of tlieir infancy tliey 
passed their (luiet, uneventful life, nor wished for 
change. They were the parents of five sons and 
five daughters. The little ones were early trained 
to habits of industry and thrift. When old 
enough the children went to school, and regularly 
attended the parish church, and soon the daugh- 
ters shared the mother's duties and the sons 
assisted the father in his daily work. 

Four children of this German home have passed 
away. The living sons and daughters are Sophia, 
who early consecrated her life to religious duties, 
and is now a Sister of Charity in Belgium; Anna, 
who devotes her life to the education of the 
young, and is now a teacher in the public schools 
in Germany; Elizabeth is in ]\Iinneapolis, and 
like her eldest sister has entered upon a religious 
life as a Sister of Charity; Maria is also a member 
of a religious order and a Sister of Charity in 
Namur, Belgium; Herman, a man of business in 
Chicago; and Henry, the parish priest of Hills- 
l>oro. 

From early youth Henry Becker was a studious 
ho}', of strong religious inclinations, and at the 
proper age began a course of preparation for tlie 
priesthood. He readily acquired the Latin tongue 
and afterward studied mental philosophy in Bel- 
gium. He then resolved to complete the higher 
course in America, which he had long before de- 
cided to make his future field of labor, .lourney- 
ing safely across the Atlantic, he landed in New 
York, September 2o, 1875. He tarried not long 
in the United States, but soon proceeded to his 
destination, Montreal, Canada, where he entered 
the Grand Seminary, and took the four-3'ear 
theological course. 

Father Becker graduated with honor as Doctor 
of Theology in 1879. He was ordained priest 
December 20 of the same year, and was then as- 
signed to Illinois, Diocese of Alton. His first 
parish was in Mound City, and he also ministered 
to the needs of .Metropolis, Stone Fort and Har- 
risburg. He remained with this charge one year 
and was then sent to Mt. \'ernon, his religious 
duties also including the ])astoral work in Okaw- 
ville and McLeunsborough. His next parish was 



in K.askaskia, Randolph County, the oldest settle- 
ment in the Mississippi Valle\-. He remained one 
year, and then on account of sickness was sent to 
Grantfort, Madison County, where he was sta- 
tioned a year. 

Our subject had now for five years faithfully 
gone his wearying round, answering with his 
cheerful presence the constant demands of acci- 
dent, sickness and death. He was over-worked 
and, finally obliged on account of his health to 
take a rest, visited the Fatherland. Old friends 
and neighbors greeted him; his father was yet 
alive, but his mother was gone from the old home 
to "a house not made with hands." At three-score 
years and ten she had entered into rest. 

In 1885, Father Becker, vpith health restored, 
was assigned the pastoral charge of the church at 
Vandalia, with charge also of Greenville and Ram- 
sey. In 1888 he assumed charge of the church at 
Hiilsboro, and alsc) officiated as priest at Gil- 
lespie, performing his varied duties with unabated 
energy and conscientious diligence. In 1890 he 
went again to Europe, this time journeying to 
Rome, whose grandeur and magnificence never 
cease to employ tlie pen and pencil of author and 
artist. 

Fifty families attend the Catholic Church of 
Hiilsboro and since our subject took charge he 
has aided in clearing off a debt of 1700 and is r.ow 
erecting a building (a residence for the parish 
priest) to cost §2000. Father Becker's undoubted 
business ability is of great value to the parish, 
whose religious interests are his fiist tho\ight. 



/ 



- oc:^,i/Ci 






W-;ESLEY SNELL. It will be unanimously 
conceded that the well-appointed restau- 
rant fills an important niche in the sum 
total of any town's acquisitions, and it is in such 
connection that due mention is made of the estab- 
lishment of which Mr. Sncll is the proprietor. 
This popular house was established about four 
3'ears ago, and is conducted in an admirable man- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



193 



ner, wliile the cooking is heyoiul reproach. Prices 
are moderate, and a first-class meal can lie ob- 
tained for a sum within the reach of all. 

Mr. Snell was born at Stanton, 111., April 11, 
IKl.'i, to John and Elizabeth (F.est) Snell, the for- 
mer (jf whom was born in North Carolina, and 
came to Illinois in 1.S23. with his father, Roger 
Snell, and settled on a farm not far from Stanton. 
On this same farm the subject of this sketch was 
born. The grandfather died at the very advanced 
age of ninet3--two years, wliilc John Snell's de- 
mise occurred on the 7th of March, 181)2, at the 
age of eighty-six _years. Young Snell grew up on 
the farm on which he w.as born, and, being next 
to the youngest in a family of nine children, re- 
ceived Init a common-school education. 

When the war cloud, which had hovered over 
the country for so long a time, burst in all its 
fury, he, with two of his brothers, William and 
.lames, joined the Third Illinois Cavalry, and 
served three years. William was slightly wounded 
at the battle of Pea Ridge, but was otherwise un- 
injured in the service. He died in 1881, and 
.Tames in February, 181(2. Wesley Snell entered 
the service on the 7tli of March, 1865, and became a 
ineniber of Com])any H, Twentj-eiglith Illinois 
Infantry as a recruit, and was sent to the front at 
Mobile, Ala., and at once took part in the siege of 
that place. He was with his company at the fall 
of Spanish Fort, Ft. Blakely :uid the fall of 
Mobile. They were in camp near the latter city 
when the news of President Lincoln's assassina- 
tion reached them. They were then sent to the 
Hio (irande in Texas, and continued to do guard 
duty in the vicinity of Brownsville, where Mr. 
Snell remained until his term of enlistment had 
expired, in March, 18(i6. He was discharged on 
the Till of that month, after which he spent one 
year on a farm in JNIacoupin County, 111., then 
came to Montgomery County, and engaged in 
farming seven miles south of Nokomis, where he 
remained until 1880, wlieu he established himself 
in business in the town, and has since successfully 
conducted his restaur.ant and bakery. 

The establishment of which Mr. Snell is the 
proprietor is excellent of its kind, the l)read especi- 
ally being of a very superior quality , while cakes 



of all description, both ornamental and plain, are 
seen in the show-cases. In politics, Mr. Snell has 
alwavs been a strong Re[)ulilicaii. but has never 
aspired to public position. He married in 18(58 
Miss Mary E. liond, a native fif Madison County, 
III., by whiim he has a family of six children, live 
of whom are living: Liilla I.; Elizabeth E.. wife of 
John E. Todd, of INLittoon, III.; Eva E., who died 
at the age of thirteen years; Minnie, John 1!., and 
Essie. Mr. Snell's brother, the Rev. Asa Snell, 
has been a Methodist minister for the (mst thirty- 
six years, and is now located at Spring (Jarden. 
Mv. Snell is a well-known man of business, who 
has gained an inlliiential and wide-spread patron- 
.age through his honorable methods in dealing 
with the public, and by his energy and [irompt- 
ness in filling the contracts that are ijiven him. 



'i^ 



SA J. SHERBURNE is a i»rominent and 
enter[)rising farmer of Bond County and 
owns one of the best-improved and most 
^j/J fertile farms in this part of the State. 

Perhaps it would iie difticult to lind among the 
farming community a man who enjoys wider po|)- 
ularity than he, and his liiogra|ihical sketch will 
therefore be of interest to oiir readers. 

.\sa J. Sherburne was born near Rochester, X. Y., 
.Tilly 11, 1827, and is the sou of Henry Sherburne, 
:dso a native of New York, whose liirth took place 
in 1799. The family is of English descent and was 
represented in this country liefore the Revolution- 
ary War. In his younger days, Henry Sherburne 
followed the trade of a blacksmith and engaged in 
making edged tools and in mill work. Later he 
became a merchant and dealt in notions and drv- 
goods. About 18,')(T, he removed to Indiana and 
settled in Terre Haute, where he engaged in busi- 
ness for some years. His .active labors ceased at 
the age of seventy-four years, and he p.assed awav 
mourned not only by his family but tliroiiirliout 
the entire coniniiiiiity. He iiad been a valued 
member of the Methodist Church. In politics, he 




194 



PORTRAIT AND EIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



was first a Whig and a strona: Abolitionist, and 
in later years became a Republican. 

The mother of our subject, INIary (Bronson) 
Sherburne, was born in New Yoik and died at tlic 
age of seventy-four j'ears. The cluirch of her 
choice was the Methodist, in whicii she was long 
an active member. Mrs. Sherburne became the 
mother of nine children, eight of whom grew to 
maturity, namely: James, Jethro, Charles, Asa, 
Squire, William, Melvina and Lucy. Jane died at 
the age of eleven years. Our subject was reared 
in New York and was educated in the common 
schools of liis place. At the age of sixteen, he 
left home and began the struggle of life for him- 
self. At Waterloo, N. Y., he learned the trade of 
blacksmith and worked at it until 1851, when lie 
made his way to Indianapolis, Ind., and engaged 
in work on the Vandalia Railroad, which was 
being built from there to Terre Haute. When the 
road was finished, lie was engaged as engineer and 
ran on that line between Indianapolis to Terre 
Haute for nineteen years, and later fron Indianap- 
olis to St. I>ouis for five j-ears as passenger con- 
ductor. 

Tiring of this life, in 1873 Mr. Sherburne left 
railroad work and bought his present farm. His 
marriage, April .30, 18.54, united iiim to Mary 
Burton, who was born in Terre Haute, Ind., and 
four children have been born unto them, namely: 
HaiTj' v., who married Rebecca Plumb; Cora, Mrs. 
Curtis C. Paddock; Lua E., Mrs. William H. Ebert; 
and Ned C. Our subject lias two hundred and 
eighty acres of fine land, all in one body. The en- 
tire tract is in the highest state of improvement, ex- 
cept twenty acres, whicli he prefers to keei)in tim- 
ber. His commodious residence was erected in 1881 
and is beautifully located on a higli ridge, near the 
railroad on which he spent so many 3ears. In 
1886, he built the large frame bain, which is one 
of the most substantial improvements in that 
neighliorhood. Mr. Sherburne lias raised a great 
deal of wheat and also much, fine stock. I u polit- 
ical matters, he is a Republican and his jiopularity 
with lh(^ party of his choice is testified by his elec- 
tion to tiie position of School Director, which 
oflice he lias held for many years. For tiiirty 
years, he has been a prooiiueul member of the Ma- 



sonic fraternity and is at present identified with 
the Blue Lodge, and lias reached the thirty-second 
degree. The family is highly respected and its 
members have made hosts of friends among the 
residents of that portion of Illinois embraced in 
the confines of Bond County. 




'4-^ ON. WILLIAM YOUNG, who for twelve 
years administered law as Justice of the 
Peace, and who in the early '5()s, before the 
organization of the township, represented 
three counties in the Legislature, now resides upon 
his farm, on section 13, HiUsboro Township, Mont- 
gomery County. Our subject well illustrates the 
homely old proverb, "Whore there is a will there is 
a way." He began life with but two valuable 
possessions — a horse and a saddle. The broad well- 
tiUed and well-stocked farm which he now owns 
was gained by unremitting toil, patient saving and 
wise investment. 

Mr. Young was born in Mauiy County, Tenn., 
October 5, 1810. His father, Henry Young, was of 
Scotch descent, but a native of Pennsylvania, in 
which State he received iiis early training. The 
mother of our subject, Sallie Fifer, was born in 
Germany, from whicli country her [jarents emi- 
grated to America and located in South Carolina 
when she was about two j-ears old. Henry Young 
and Sailie Fifer were married in North Carolina, 
and first settled in Roanoke County. Fiom that 
State they removed to Kentucky, thence to Tennes- 
see, wiiere, upon a farm about fifteen miles south 
of Columbus, their son William was born. 

The lather died upon that farm at the age of 
sixty-four. His widow removed with her family 
to Montgomery County, III., in 1830, and lived 
there until hci- death in her seventy-eighth year. 
John and Sailie Young were the parents of twelve 
children, all of whom reached adult age. Of this 
large family (eight dauglit(M-s and four sons) but 
three survive: Loviua, the widow of Rev. C C 



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGKAPIllCAL RECORD. 



195 



Aydelott, resides in Donnellson, iMoiit^omery 
C'ouiity: Ilrariet, the widow of J. Harder, lives in 
I'erry Towiisliip; our subject is the eleventh child 
and the yiningest son. His boyhood was passed in | 
his native (ilaee.and he was twenty jears of age 
when he came to Illinois. 

For a time Mr. Young worked b3- the day and 
month, but immediately following his marriage to 
Miss .lane Paisley, which event occurred March 1, 
1832, he took up land west of Donnellson and lo- 
cated u|)on section 21, township 7, range 4. The 
four-hundred acre tract was a Government claim, 
and ni)on its broad surface not even a sod had lieen 
broken. A small log-house, IGxlG feet in dimen- 
sions, entirely destitute of windows, and with a 
puncheon Hoor, Was the home of the newly-wedded 
pair. For furniture they had two split-bottom 
chairs, a table niadeof si)lil walnut logs, and a lied- 
stead of the same. These articles were not han(I- 
some, but they served their purpose and were 
highly valued by the good lady of the house. 

Mr. Young cleared the })lace, and made miles of 
rail fence to enclose it. lie hauled his grain to St. 
Louis, the nearest market, and there exchanged it 
for groceries and other necessities of life, receiving 
according to market fluctuations from twelve and 
a-haU' to eighteen cents per bushel. For fifty 
years our siiliject remained upon that farm, but in 
18H0 he Ijought two hundred .and tifty-two acres, 
upon which he now resides, and which is under 
high cultivation. Mr. Young also owns ninety 
.acres on section 2t, three hundred acres in town- 
ship 7, range 3, sections IG and 17; six hundred 
acres in township 8, range 3, sections 2',t, 30 and 
32. This large body of valuable land (twelve 
hundred and forty-four acres) is all situated in 
Montgomeiv ('(uint\'. A tract of two hundred and 
forty acres in ISutler County, which our subject 
f(U'incrly owned, iiasre(ently been dispii.sed of. 

Our sul)ject was twice married. Flis lii-st wife, 
who died in 18,')l,was the mother of nine chil- 
dren, three surviving her: .John, William A. ami 
Harriet IM., widow of William MeCulloch. .Ml re- 
side in ^Montgomery County. Three of the fam- 
ily died ill infancy; .laines .1. died in 18S',t; .Sarah 
,laiie and Samuel died when they had reaclieil 
mature years. Mr. Young's present wife was a 



native of North Carolina, and came to Mont- 
gomery County when she was sixteen years 
of age. She is the mother of three children: 
Francis H.; Anna, the wife of Charles Linx- 
willer; and Jacob, who resides with his parents. 
Mr. Young cast his lirst vote for Jackson and 
abides by his early convictions. As an official, he 
made an excellent Justice of the Peace, and ably 
represented the counties of Montgomery, Bond 
and Clinton in the Legislature of 1851. 



-i^^l 



L'B' 



.?;^.i*-^ 



^jlOHN P. Y()rX(i. the present A.ssessor of 
Harvel Townshi)). is widely known and 
highly respected for his excellent business 
ability and integrity of character. Ilis par- 
ents wire natives of (iermany and in early life 
made themselves a home in I>aden. In this beau- 
tiful city of the Fatherland, -lohn P. was born 
May 19, 1839, and, being a dutiful son, he re- 
mained with his parents until nearly nineteen 
years of .age. The les.sons of frugality and patient 
training in liabils of industry ac<|iiired in his 
childhood home gave him conlidence in himself, 
and as he neareil manhood, his ambition was 
aroused by the reported success of others who had 
gone to the New World. He now determined to 
emigrate to America, the Fblorado of countless 
millions. 

Mr. Young's journey' to the New World was 
not made in a fast-sailing steamship. He em- 
barked on a sailing-vessel which left Havre No- 
vember 24, 18.")8, ami arrived at her destination. 
New Orleans, February 2o, 18,")1). The three- 
month voy.age gave the young (iermaii many 
hours for leisure thought and planning f(.)r the 
unknown future, and it is probable that much of 
his later success was due to this fact. The Sunny 
S(^uth did not keep the young emigrant long in 
its territory, as he soon turned his face northward, 
and in .lersey County, III., received his lirst em- 
))loyiiieiit in this counlry. lieginning as a farm 
li.aud, John, as he was familiarly called, worked 



196 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



steadilj^ two years, receiving, even in the busy 
season, only tlie modest sum of 115 per inoiitli. 
15iit the sturdy young man's wants were few, and 
having now become a true American, he was con- 
tent to wait iiis time. His next step upward was 
achieved in Montgomery County, where lie farmed 
on shares three years in Pitman Township. At 
tiie end of tins time, lie accepted emploj'ment 
wliich promised better returns at Decatur. 

Mr. Young, however, preferred his late place of 
residence, and being convinced that Jlontgomery 
County was his best field for work, returned there 
after a brief time, and again became a tiller of tlie 
soil in Pitman Township, and subsequently jmo- 
prietor of eighty acres of well-improved land. In 
tlie meantime, about eight years after his arrival 
in America, the young farmer selected a life part- 
ner, and upon August 9, 1867, married Miss Fan- 
nie Fehr. Already a land-owner, blessed with 
health, prosperity, home and wife, the future out- 
look was even at that early day very briglit. 
Seven children have blessed Mr. Young's union 
with Miss Fehr, and six of these children — Frank, 
Mary, Katie, Minnie, Sophie .and .Tohn — are now 
living, the death of a son George being the only 
affliction this hapiiy household has known. Po- 
litically, the subject of this sketch is a Democrat, 
defending his views with intelligent ability, and 
liis heart is with the masses, one of his chief aims 
in life being to educate and elevate the multi- 
tude. 

Mr. Young is an ardent advocate of the public- 
school system of his adojited country, and for 
several years lias untiringly and conscientioiisl3' 
performed the duties of School Director. Many 
readily accept such odice, neglecting the work 
which attaches to it, but the fidelity of John P. 
Young lias .accomplished much for the youth of 
liis immediate neigliborhood, and tlie good he has 
done will lie shown in the lives of many coming 
men and women. 

Besides the position of School Diiector, which 
brouglit him into fre(pieiit contact with the chil- 
dren both great and small, Mr. Young's appoint- 
ment as Coll('<t(ii- of I'itiiinn Townsliip gave iiini 
a wide-spread accni.'iiiitance. For nine consecutive 
years he acceptably discharged his duties as Town- 



ship Collector, and for the past two years has been 
Assessor. 

Mr. Young is a consistent attendant and mem- 
ber of the Roman Catholic Church. As a citizen, 
lie enjoys the full confidence of his associates and 
neighbors, and ple.asant indeed must be the retro- 
spect of the p.ast. Alone in a new countiy, rely- 
ing solfdy on his own energy, he has made for 
himself a record to be envied, and has won a 
happy home and wide-spread infiuence, whose 
value cannot be over estimated. 



il^ 




i;, J. OWENS. Litchfield is a pretty city of 
' homes, where the matrons do their own 



^xj' marketing and are wise in all the culinary 
arts and sciences, from selecting their roasts, vege- 
tables and cereals to concocting mysterious dishes 
that their unsuspecting husbands, fathers and 
brothers are expected to digest. In the face of 
such knowledge of these matters, the purveyor to 
these wants mustbs a shrewd and honest man witii 
keen judgment of the needs of his customers. 
Such a one is Mr. Owens, who is proprietor of the 
grocery, meat-market, flour and feed store at tlie 
corner of Taylor and Chestnut Streets. He here 
has a fine place, having many modern appoint- 
ments, as the building was erected about January 
1, 1891, and he enjoys an excellent share of the 
trade. 

Our subject w.as born in Collinsville, Madison 
County, 111., December 28, 1854. lie is the son of 
J. AV. and Mary A. (Jones) Owens, the former of 
whom was an early settler here, having coiv.e 
originally from Kentuck}'. Here he married his 
wife, who came liitlier from Liverpool, England, 
but wlio had received her education in London. 
Mr. Owens, Sr., lias from boyhood been engaged 
in the mercantile business, and is still one of the 
most energetic business men of Collinsville. He 
adheres to the principles of the Democratic party 
and has been . Justice of tiie Peace for twenty-four 
years, not having been out <if i^illico during tliat 
time. 











cO 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



199 



W. J. Owens reeeivecl liis education in St. Clair 
County, at Caseyville, and later attended couinier- 
cial colleg-e at St. Louis. After that he was en- 
gaged as a locomotive engineer for five years on 
the Iron Blountain and Jacksonville & South East- 
ern Railroad. On severing his connection witli 
the railroad company, Jlr. Owens came to Litcii- 
tield, in March, LSSi), and was placed in charge of 
tlie City Watei' Works. He lield this position for 
two years, at the same lime liaving control of the 
Electric Light Plant. His own position was tliat 
of Chief Engineer, and. allhuugli he had assistance 
at each i)hice. the re>ponsihilit\' for the s.ife npera- 
tii.in of both jilants rested U[)<)n him. He remained 
in charge until tlie se|)aration of the two plants, 
when he established himself in the business in 
which lie is now interested, and in which his trade 
is ever increasing. He devotes his whole time ai'd 
attention to his business, and the sales anicMint to 
aljout -^900 per month. 

Our subject has a i)leasant home in Litchlield, 
which is presided over by his amiable and charm- 
ing wife, to whom he was married at Carlyle, this 
State, Octobei' 19, l«,s-2. She was Miss Ada F., 
dnnghter fif J\Irs. .Jacob Young. Her education 
was acciuired in the High School of Carlyle. Mr. 
and Mrs. Owens are members of the Presln'terian 
Church, and our subject is identilied with the In- 
dependent Order of Odd Fellows and the Brother- 
hood of Locomotive Engineers. 




OBERT WILLEFOKl), a pioneer settler and 
honored resident of Ripley Townshi)), Bond 
County, is also a veteran of the Mexican 

5) War, and a citizen of undoubted courage 
and integrity. Born in Rutherford County, Tenn., 
.lune 6, 1818, he was but nine years of age when 
he came to Illinois with his family and found a 
[leimanent home within its boundaries. Locating 
upon the broad prairie, about seven miles west of 
(4reenville, lie has for almost sixty-live conlinnoiis 
years been closely identilied with evei'v inarketl 



I improvement and growing enterprise of the imme- 
diate neighborhood. As a County Commissioner 

I lie served with faitiiful ability three terms, his en- 
ergetic efforts in behalf of jiublic interests win- 
ning him the confidence and esteem of his oflieial 
associates and the community at large. 

The immediate ancestors of onr subject were 
A'irginians by birth, both his father and paternal 
grandfather having been Ijorii in tlie()ld Domin- 
ion. .!(_ rdaii Wiileford, the grainlfather, at the 
early age of sixteen enlisted as a soldier in the Rev- 
olutionary War, and fought nobly for Ocid and 
liberty. Afterward returning to his birth))lace, 
Hampton County, he married, settled upon a A'ir- 
ginia plantation and became a slave-holder. His 
son James, Ixirn in lIami)toii County in 1791, was 
the father of our subject, (irandfather Wiileford 
early removed to Tennessee, and there died at the 
advanced age of ninety-six years. He was a man 
of fine presence, energetic and fearless, and lived 
t.o witness almost a century's iirogiess of our na- 
tion. 

Robert Wiileford was the eldest child born t<) 
James and Sally (Price) Wiileford. The mother 
was a native of \irgiiiia, and died in Tennessee in 
182(), leaving to her husband's care four little 
children, the youngest scarcely more than a babe. 
Some time after his lirst wife's death, James Wiile- 
ford married Nancy Price, the sister of his former 
wife. The children of the first marriage were: our 
subject, Robert; Elizabeth, who married Aquilla 
Sugg, and died in October, l.SH.'i; Nancy Ellen, the 
widow of William Turner, who resides live miles 
east of Old Ripley; and James, who was born in 
1825 and died Ainil 12, ISiso. By his second mar- 
riage, James Wiileford became the father of four 
children, three of whom died young, the only sur- 
vivor being Willis Wiileford, a wealthy citizen 
and retired farmer of liipley Township. The death 
of .lames Wiileford occurred in 1862, upon the 
Illinois farm, where he had located thirty-live years 
before. He had never .aciiuired wealth, and could 
give his children but the limited ad vantages of the 
e.'irly suliscriptioii and little disti'ict schools, but 
he Ir.-iined them lu the habits of industry and self. 

1 reliance, which littiMl them foi' the battle of life. 

I In coninioii with the sons of other pioneers, our 



200 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



subject began hard work in early life, and while 
engaged in regular farming duties, the j'ears went 
swiftl}- by, until in 1846 he enlisted in the service 
of the United States, and for one .year, with gal- 
lant bravery, fought upon the fields of Vera Cruz 
and Cerro (iordo. Having returned to his home, 
he married, Julj' 2, 1848, Miss Malinda, a daughter 
of Daniel File, who came to Bond County from 
North Carolina in 1818. Mrs. Willeford died in 
1852. on the farm where her husband had located 
immediately following their marriage, and where 
he has lived ever since. Robert Willeford has been 
a life-long Democrat, and still talces an active inter- 
est in the conduct of public affairs. lie is a promi- 
nent member of the Baptist Church, and has mate- 
rially aided in extending its religious work. 

Hon. Edward Jv. Willeford, one of the jirominent 
agriculturists and stock-raisers of the State, and 
the only child of our subject, was born October 7, 
1850, on the homestead where he now resides. He 
received a primary education in the imblic sch(.)ols 
and completed his course of study in a private 
academy at Greenville. At eighteen years he taught 
school, continuing in that occupaticm for a time, 
but soon permanently engaged in the business 
of his life — general agriculture and stock-rais- 
ing. Mr. Willeford and his father own about six 
hundred .acres of valuable land, and have the finest 
herd of thoroughbred short-horn cattle in the 
county. At the early age of nineteen years Ed- 
ward L. Willeford and Miss Lucy S. Davenport 
were united in marriage. Mrs. Willeford is a native 
of jMontgomery County, and a daughter of very 
early settlers in the State. Mr. and Mrs. Willeford 
are the parents of six (children. Francis jNI. is the 
wife of .Tames A. Talior, a farmer of Riy County, 
near Richmond, Mo.; Ella Ciordon is a teacher in the 
public school; Maud married Frank Ilarker, and 
resides in old Hipley. Huljert L., l<;tli(> and r.laiichc 
are at home. Ella and Robert completed their ed- 
ucation in Green ville, and the other children have 
profited by the now excellent public schools. 

In 1888, Mr. Willeford was elected by the Dem- 
ocrats to the State Legislature, and evinced so 
nmcli al>ilily in the discharge of his ollicial duties 
lliathe wa> placed on sever.'d import.ant conimilt,ee>. 

Mr. Willeford is a prominent member of the In- 



dependent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a genial 
gentleman, possessing hosts of friends. He is an 
important factor in the progiessive interests of the 
count}', and was one of the leaders in the estab- 
lishment of the Farmers' Central Township Mu- 
tual Insurance Company of Bond County, of which 
he is the efficient Secretary. 



b~ EOPOLD KNEBEL, one o 
) owners in the State of III 
, known grain buyer at Pii 



EOPOLD KNEBEL, one of the largest land- 
llinois, and a well- 
'ierron, is the sub- 
ject of this present writing. He began the battle 
of life a fatherless boy at sixteen, and liy the ster- 
ling traits in his character, has conquered all diffi- 
culties, and now is wealthy and respected. 

The gentleman of whom wc write was born in 
Baden, (Germany, November 27, 183SI, a son of 
Sebastian Knebel, who was also a native of Baden. 
Before coming to America, our subject had the ad- 
vantage of six months of schooling in Germany, 
but in 1847, he, with his parents and four other 
children, started for the New World. The ocean 
trip was long and tiresome, taking fifty -six days 
to accomplish, and when the passengers were 
landed in New Orleans, they still had an eight- 
day voyage between thein and St. Louis, on the 
way to their destination in INIadison County, III. 
Upon reaching Southern Illinois, Mr. Knebel 
bought land in township 5, range 8, Madison 
County, selecting one hundred and forty acres on 
the edge of some timber. 

Of course the educational advantages to be se- 
cured in such a place were not ver\' extensive, but 
our subject attended the siiliscription schools, then 
held in the log schoolhouses, which were only sup- 
|)lied with slab benches and earthen floors, and ab- 
sorbed as much learning as did his fellow-students, 
whose op|)ortunities were the same, and many of 
whom liad come froiii liie same land across the sea. 

The father of our subject was removed by death 
when Jjcopold was only twelve years old, and the 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD; 



201 



latter was obliged to think of some way in which 
he eouhl obtain a livelihood. Lal)or he must, and 
so he hired out l)y the year, after haviuy it put into 
the Iiond that he eould have three nuinths of school- 
ing. For two years he worked for board and clothes, 
and at the expiration of that time he received from 
!i>5 to ^7 i)cr month for two years longer. l>y 
the time he was sixteen, he desired to become master 
of his own wages, so hired out and worked fi'om 
that time \intil he was twenty years (jld for from 
'^H to ^'llt a month. 

^Vhen twenty years of age he had saved enough 
from his rather slender salary to purchase eighty 
acres of wild prairie land, and felt enough faith in 
the future to ask Jliss ('art)lnie Walter to become 
his wife. The wedding took place ^larch :>, 1.SG2. 
She had had a trying experience on her w.ay to 
America from her native place, liaden. The year 
of her departure was 18.j4, and at that time the 
same dread disease which of late has hung along 
our shores, the cholera, \vas raging along the jMis- 
sissii)pi. After a long trip of forty-eight days <<n 
the ocean, the [lassengers took the boat to ascend 
the Mississijipi from New Orleans to St. Louis, and 
forty-eight of the passengers died on that boat. 
Water was low, and four weeks were consumed 
upim that passage up the river. She was accom- 
panied by her i)arents and her seven brothers and 
sisters. 

The children liorn to Mr. and Mrs. Ivnebel are 
Julia. Carolina, Ida, Kdw.ard 1,., William and 
Henry. Our subject settled on his farm in ISIadison 
County, and now h.as twenty-one hundred and lifty 
aci'es, all of which he has improved, with the ex- 
ception of thirty acres of timber. He has owned 
more land than this, but has sold ])art of it off in 
lots. His incoiiH' from his land now is from s^.-i.dlMl 
to *7,(>(10 a year. One branch of his business is 
the buying and shiiiping of cattle and hogs to all 
points. He buys all of his grain al this point, and 
has an interest in the elevator with Charles Speck- 
art, who is his son-in-law. His farming does not 
trouble him mui-li, as he rents out about all of his 
land, but the time has been when he was a hard- 
working in.an, and it has been on account of his 
good m.'inageiiu'nl anil indu>lry that he now occu- 
pies the position that he does. 



Mr. and Mrs. Kneliel are members of the Roman 
Catholic Church, and to it he gives liberally of his 
nutans. Li his political opinions our subject is a 
Democrat, although he voted for Lincoln liecause 
he was opposed to slavery, as at that time that was 
the principal ipiestion of dis|)ute. He also voted 
for (irant when he ran for I'resideul llu^ lust time. 
Since then other questions have come up upon 
which Mr. Knebel thinks the Democratic party 
lakes the [irojjer stand. He has been a delegate to 
both e(.)unty and Congressi(.)nal conventions. 

;\[r. Knebel has seen about all of the advance- 
ment of this section. He hauled the lirst load of 
lumber for the boginning of the [iresent town of 
I'ierron, and built the first building on this site. 
His acipiaint.ance is laige, and he is regarded with 
respect as a man of sterling worlli. 






- '=^y^ 



(W 



t==l— 



OHN SCHWAKTZLY. Some of the best 
citizens of Nokoniis T\:)wnshi|i are natives 
of (Jermany. Their thrift aiul industry 
have made this southern i)ortion of Illinois, 
bordering as it does on lioth North and Soutii, to 
blossom like the rose. T'he(>erinan mind is natur- 
ally of a sci'Mitific bent, and when applied to agri- 
culture it is found to lie exceedingly advantage- 
ous. 

Mr. Scliwartzly was born in liaden, Germany, 
September '22. \X2'.K His father was a farmer, but 
while yet a lad our subject learned the baker's 
trade and followed that until 18.07, at which time 
he came to America. Locating at Louisville, Ky., 
for two years, he was engaged in working .-it his 
trade and then determined to turn his attention to 
farming. He located on a good tract of Land in 
Madison County, 111., not far from Alton. Life 
was not complete to the young German, away 
from the Fatherland and among sl,r;ingers, witliout 
a home and domestic ties, and in April, 1801, he 
remedied this want by his marriage to Miss Hirdie 
Shoos, a native of Madison County and of (Jer- 
man parentage. In 187(1, the young couple came 



202 



POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECOED. 



to Montgomery County and located on the farm 
where they now live in Nukomis Township. 
Providence and nature have smiled upon the agri- 
cultural efforts of our subject. His farm, whicli 
comprises two hundred acres of land, is one of the 
l)est in tlie German settlement, and bears the finest 
of improvements, all of which he himself has 
made. Owner of a comfortable iiome, our subject 
IS able to raise much of the necessities of life upon 
his own jjlace, and makes it yield to him a gener- 
ous supply of what other things are necessary. 

Mv. and Mrs. Schwartz!}- are the parents of nine 
living children. The eldest daughter, whose given 
name is Ellen, is the wife of Enoch Koock. The 
leniaining children are all under the home roof as 
yet. They are named as follows: Frank, Louisa, 
Charles, Lewis, Rosa, Etta, Julia and Minnie. They 
are a bright and happy family of active, eneigetic 
young people, who are bound to make their wa}- 
in the world. 



-^^- 



APT. JOHN D. DONNELL. The gentle- 
i|i _ man whose sketch now claims our atten- 
X^;-' tion has passed from tiie stage of life, but 
his memory is dear to his surviving friends, and a 
Riccouu of the prominent people who have made 
Bond County what it now is would not be com- 
plete without a notice of his life. 

John I). Donnell was l)orn in Guilford County, 
N. C, September 8, 1817, and was brought to this 
county by his parents (see .sketch of family history 
in life of William Donnell, of Greenville) wlien 
he was only three years old. The trip w.as made 
by wagon in the usual emigrant fashion, lie was 
sent to the country log schoolliouse, with its primi- 
tive arrangements for accommodat ion of the pupils, 
and within its walls were to be found many chil- 
dren who have since made their names known in the 
l)ublic affairs of the State. 15y them this modest 
temple of learning is rememltcred with affection 
,Ti)d the instruction received there has aided them 



in their advancement. After his early life there, 
our subject attended a good school in Hillsboro, 
111., for one 3'ear. 

At that time the land in Bond County was 
unimproved and the deer and wolves were still 
numerous. Occasionally, our subject went upon 
hunting expeditions, but life was busy then and 
he had to work hard without many play days. 
When he had reached man's estate, he decided to 
found a home of his own and chose Jliss Ann R. 
Robinson to become his wife. She was born in 
this county, December 18, 1822, and her marriage 
took place June ir>, 1843, when she was twenty- 
one years old. Four children blessed this union: 
F.dwin is now married and resides in Salida, Colo.; 
William J. is at home unnianied; Ann Elizabeth 
married Daniel Hair and is deceased, and Charles 
D. died in infancy. 

The father of Mrs. Donnell was Gideon Robin- 
son, a native of North Carolina, who came to this 
State in 1819, in an emigrant \v.agon — a prairie 
schooner as it was later called. Mr. Robinson 
entered land in Central Township and built a log 
cabin in the woods, where he developed a large 
farm. He died at the age of sixty years. In his 
political belief, he was a firm Whig. The mother 
of Mrs. Donnell was Rachel Craig, a native of 
Tennessee, and four children were reared by her, 
William T., James P., Mary 15. and Ann. Her 
death occurred when she was about sixty years 
old. She was a member of the Methodist Church, 
and a good, kind, Christian woman. After mar- 
riage, our subject and his wife settled ujjon this 
farm in a snug three-roomed house and immedi- 
ately began making improvements upon the place. 
Into this happy household, the rude clarion of war 
sounded, and the husband and father shouldered 
his musket to do battle for his country. 

The enlistment of Capt. Donnell as a private in 
the One Hundred and Thirtieth Illinois Regiment 
took place in August, 1862. He was promoted 
until he reached the rank of Captain, and served 
luitil December, 1804, when, on accotnit of rheu- 
matism, he was forced to resign. Cajit. Donnell was 
with Gen. Sherman in his canijiaigns and fought 
in the battle of N'icksburg. After hi^ return from 
the army, he remained at home until the follow- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



205 



iug summei-, when he and his brother crossed tlie 
plains witli an ox-team to Denver. 

At the time of his decease, Capt. Donnell owned 
about five Jmndred acres of land. His death oc- 
curred December 18, 1872. Since that sad event, 
Mrs. Donnell and her sons have managed the farm 
and have been very successful in the work. C'apt. 
Donnell was a member, with ins wife, of the Pres- 
byterian Church and gave of his means to its sup- 
port. In politics, he was a Republican and U|)held 
all thinfjs which seemed right in his sight. His 
good liusiness (pialities resulted in his acquiring 
wealth and i)articularly was lie foitiniate in the 
buying and shipping of cattle. He did a large 
business in that line in 18(1(1, when he bought in 
Kansas and sold at other points. 



-^^i 



AMES E. BLACKWEJ>DER, M. D., is num- 
bered among the leading ph3-sicians of this 
city, Litchfield, where he has resided since 
1871. It seems almost wonderful that so 
many physicians of repute should be residents of 
this one cit}', yet it is a fact that the medical pro- 
fession is better represented in this place than 
many others, and among them all stands pre-emi- 
nent the subject of this brief sketch. 

Dr. Blackwelder is a native .son of this same 
county that he now lionors with his residence, his 
birth occurring near this city, August 2, 1841. His 
father, Peter Blackwelder, was one of the pioneer 
settlers of this county, the date of his advent ui this 
region being 1832. He was born at Concord, N. C, 
September 7, 1810, but when a young man, came 
with a cousin, Alfred Blackwelder, to Illinois, and 
located near Hillsboro, but afterward removed to 
this locality, settling near the city of Litchlield. 
The journe}' from North Carolina was made on 
horseback, and as the young men were young and 
active, they enjoyed the trip with all the ardor of 
young venturesome men, to whom hardships were 
nothing. 

When the father of our suljject came here, there 



were but few improvements, and he was able to 
put up a new claim for a very small sum. On this 
claim he put up a log cabin and made a home 
for the bride he brought to brighten his fireside 
for him in 1837. This la<ly was Mrs. Wagoner, nee 
Seherer, who was horn in (ireensboro, N. ('., and 
came to this county at about the same time as her 
husband. Thiscouijle reared a family of the follow- 
ing children: Mary E., wife of S. Lewdwick; I. S., of 
Chicago; our subject; Mrs. S. .1. Witherspoon; I\I. L., 
of Washington, Kan.; and C M., of ^\'ichita, Kan. 
Peter, the father, died about 1.S57, and the mother 
died in 1853, of cholera. The parents were both 
memliers of the Lutheran Church. 

Our subject received .a good education in I he 
public .schools of his native county, and in the 
Hillsboro Academy, where he took an academic 
course. He began the study of medicine in 1861, 
under Dr. I. W. Eink, of Hillsboro, and took a 
course of lectures at the St. Louis Jledical College, 
but was graduated from the Cincinnati Medical 
College in the Class of '69. During the war he 
olTered his services to the United States army, and 
was appointed Assistant Surgeon on field duty and 
field hospital, and was sent with Sherman in his 
march to the sea. His next assignment was with 
the Thiity-second Illinois Regiment at Marietta, 
Ga., then in preparation to march to the sea. .'ind 
he was with it through almost all its whole term of 
.service, John Logan, of Carlin\ille, being his 
Colonel. The Doctor saw a good deal of active 
service, participated in the Grand Review at Wash- 
ington, and then returned to Hillsboro, after serv- 
ing his country faithfully. 

After a shot t residence in the last-named jslace, Dr. 
Blackwelder located at Moro, Madison County, TIL, 
but to better his condition, he removed to Litch- 
field in June, 1871. He did not come alone, as he 
had taken unto himself a wife in the person of 
Mi.ss Grace Erick, of Alton. III. 'I'hey were mar- 
ried October 10, 1867, ami holli legard that day as 
one of the hapi)iest in their lives. ^Ls. lilack- 
welder was born in 1842, at Muncy, Pa., and wln-n 
but a girl removed to Alton, in about 18r)0. She 
is a daughter of C. H. Erick, who became a well- 
known citizen of that place, where he was the orig- 
inator of the glass works, which he first started 



206 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



with his own money, but finally induced capitalists 
to invest in and enlarge, until it is now the largest 
industiy of Alton. Ever since Dr. Blackwelder 
came to Litclilield, he has continued in practice 
here, and now enjoys a large and lucrative income 
from the same. 

Our subject has other interests in addition to his 
practice, among wliich are tiie lUiilding and Sav- 
ing Associations and the Threshing ISIachine Com- 
pany, of Litclifield, for the manufacture of thresh- 
ing machines, in both C)f which corporations he is 
largely interested. Tlie Doctor served as Alder- 
man of tiie city for three years, but has never ac- 
cepted any other nomination, and is a memlier of 
the Litchfield Chapter, A. F. it A. M., in which or- 
der he is a prominent person. Tiie Doctor aud his 
estimable wife are wortliy members of the Evan- 
gelical Lutheran Church of tliis city. To the 
union of Dr. and Mrs. Blackwelder have been born 
two children, the elder of whom, Charles H., died 
when fourteen years old. The otlier is named 
Fred C, and still is at home attending the High 
School. 



^^ 



z^ 



^W^ H. HAYES. (Jur subject is engaged as 
(©y/J I general agent for the State of Illinois for 
i \ the Anthony & Kuhn Brewery of St. 
Louis, which company has its distributing 
depot situated on the Wabash Railroad at Litch- 
field. Mr. Haj'es was born in Delaware, Ohio, No- 
vember 4, 1845. He is a son of D. S. and Ann 
(Wells) Hayes, the former being engaged in bu.s- 
iness at Springfield, Ohio, in early years. After 
the war, he moved to Tolono, 111., and was for 
some time engaged in the hotel business, remaining 
there until his death, which occurred in March, 
1883. His wife still survives and resides in Cham- 
paign. 

Our subject is one of a family which contains 
six sons, the other five being railroad men. Four 
of them are passenger conductors and are famil- 
iarly known on the road as John C, Tlieo W., 



George N. and Judson D., respectively. The fifth 
brother is a locomotive engineer, and bears the 
name of William N. Mr. Hayes has one sister, 
whoso name is Sabina, now the wife of Henry 
Wcigle, of Danville. 

The original of tliis sketch received his earl\- 
school training in the city of Springfield, Ohio. 
On the breaking out of the war, he enlisted in 
Company C, of the One Hundred and Twenty- 
ninth Ohio Infantry, and later in Company K, of 
the One Hundred and Fifty-second Infantry, and 
Compan}' E, One Hundred and Eighty-fourth 
Ohio Infantry. He joined the army July 11, 
1862, and with his regiment was sent to the Army 
of the Cumberland. With them he experienced 
all the horrors of war in the memorable campaign 
of the Shenandoah Valley. He was also at the 
battle of Lookout Mountain, that of Mission 
Ridge, Kesaca, Atlanta, and, in fact,serve<l gallantly 
until the close of the war. When peace had been 
declared, our subject, as did thousands of others 
of the Union soldiers, marched eastward to the 
National Capital, and the first reunion was held 
under the name of the Grand Review in the city 
of Washington. 

Mr. Hayes saw a service of three years in the 
Civil War, and when he came out of the fight was 
still in his minorit}'. He came with his father to 
Tolono and engaged in business for himself until 
1870, when he moved to Irving, and in 1875 came 
to Litchfield. 

On first locating in this city, our subject en- 
gaged in the butchering business, and in 1883 he 
took the agency he now holds. His thorough 
knowledge of the country and his energy have en- 
abled him to build up an extensive trade in this 
portion of the State. The company have every 
convenience for storing their product. Tliey have 
a very large cold storage place, which contains the 
most improved style of ice boxes and other things 
necessary to the perfect care of the brewing. Jlr. 
Hayes has charge of the railroad business and 
handles about ten thousand kegs per an num. 

Our subject was united in marriage in 1868 to 
Miss Alma E. Kelley, of Delaware, Ohio. They have 
one son whose name is Arthur Howard, and who 
is at the present time taking a course of civil, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



207 



mechanical and electrical engineering in the Uui- 
veisity of Michigan, at Ann ArhDi-. Mr. M.ayes is. 
a member of the Fire Department of tiic city and 
also belongs to the S. B. Pliillips Post, G. A. R. 
He is also a Knight of Pythias, and is numbered 
among tlie Knigiits and Ladies of Honor, also the 
order of Tonti No. 343, of Litchfield. 



^^ICUAKD W. RIPLEY, a prominent and re- 

j presentativo fai'mer and stock-raiser of sec- 
tion 21, Pitman Township, is a native son 
of the Piairie State. He was born in St. 
Clair County, III.. November 4, \KVJ. On the 
maternal side of the family, our subject can trace 
his family back to a grandfather who came 
into lllinciis in ISll, and was one of the first set- 
tlers in the State. He became a prominent man 
tliere and had charge of the first land otlicc at Ed- 
wardsvillc. The mother of our subject, Martha P. 
Randel, was at that time two years of age, and she 
grew up in a pioneer famil}- and was {U'epared for 
the life of her future, for the most of it was sjient 
.as the wife of a pioneer still farther West. The 
ancestors of the Ripley family were probably of 
Irish descent, and the father of our subject came to 
this region and entered Government land in what 
is now Madison County and resided there from 
1.S47 until 1855, when his busy life was closed. 

Tlie members of the family of our subject who 
lived and bore their i)art in the upljuildiug of the 
history of the State arc .losiah R., now a resident 
of Staunton, 111.; Richard W.; and ;\Iar\' L., who is 
now a resident of Macoupin County. The mother 
and one of her brothers are yet living. Our subject 
when about eight years old, with his parents, moved 
to Macou|)in County, 111., and resided there a short 
time and then, with them, removed into Madison 
County and was tliere reared to maturity. His 
home was on wild jirairie land and his life that of 
the pioneer boy of the section and time. He at- 
tended the subscription schools of the district when 
it was possible, but there were so inanv duties that. 



a lad of about his size could perform, that often 
his educatioii was sadly neglected, lie was deter- 
mined to gain knowledge, and embraced I'veiy op- 
[iortunity and liually entered roliege at Marshall, 
' III., in the winter of IXGd. 

Just at this time, the great- Civil War broke ciut, 
and our subject, with the enthusiasm of youth, en- 
listed in Company E, Seventh Illinois Infantry, 
and served three months, lie was tinplo^ed on 
guard ^luty at Alton and Cairo and was also sent 
to Mound City. He re-ciilisted when his time had 
expired, in Company L, Third Illinois Infantry, 
and was then sent to Southwest Missouii. lie was 
one of the boys in blue who bore the brunt of the 
battle at Pea Ridge and was on all of the long and 
tiresome marches, and in all of tlie fighting in that 
campaign whose history is kn<jwn to every Ameri- 
can school boy. He went through the siege of 
Vicksbuig and was under (ien. (irant; he was 
subsequently- in the army commanded by "Old 
Pap Thomas '" at Nashville and there was inusteied 
out of the army, December 1(1, 1<S(1|, when his term 
of service had expired. 

Tired of railitaiy life, our subject retiu'iiod to 
his native State and engaged as a clerk al Staun- 
ton, 111., and remained in this employment for 
several months. He then felt like trying an agri- 
cultural life and made the venture in Jladison 
County where he continued until IMTI, when his 
health began to show him that a ditTerent climate 
or a change of life in some way was necessary. 
His trip to California, which occupied several 
m(.)nths, was the result of this c<inviction, and he 
came back from the P.acilie Coast, much improved. 
At Staunton, 111., he opened a hardware and im- 
plement business and continued there for several 
years and subsequently became Cashier of the i)ri- 
vate bank of Wall, Taylor A- Co., at Staunton, 111., 
and held that [josition f(U' several years. 

;\Ir. Ripley subsequently came to Litchlield, 111., 
and engaged in the hardware and implement luisi- 
ness for a time, after which lie came to liois D'Arc 
Township and engaged in farming there for (i\e 
years. In the year l!S8(!, he came to Pitman 
Townsliip and has since remained here. lie was 
married, in 1872, to Sarah E. K'irklaiid, a natix-e 
of .lersev Countv, 111., who was a daugliler of 



208 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAIHICAL RECORD. 



Tlionias C. Kirklaiid, now a resident of Litchfield. 
Iler mother was Edith Irvvin. liy this union there 
were boi-n five chihlrcn, Hilary T., WilHam II., 
Nora A.. Benjamin .). and Edward W. 

Wliile living in Macoupin County, our subject 
served as Collector for several years and for two 
years was Highway Commissioner of Pitman 
Townsliip. In politics, Mr. Ripley is a Republican 
and is in favor of all improvements in the county. 
Mrs. Rii)lev is a Tiiember of the Methodist, Episco- 
pal Church at Waggoner and both Mr. and Mrs. 
Ripley are prominent members of society. He is a 
member of the Order of Jlodern Woodmen at 
Waggoner and is now serving as Venerable C'on- 
sul in Grand Prairie Canii> No. 677, at Wag- 
goner, 111., and is also identified with the S. B. 
Phillips Post No. 379. G. A. R., at Litchfield, 111. 



•■e-i-;:-i:^- 



1^ FRANK .TESTES, one of the prominent 
I JJI farmers of Shoal Creek Township, Bond 
J^ Count}', and a veteran of the late war, is the 
gentleman of whom we shall attempt a history in 
outline. Mr. .Testes was born October 14, 1841, in 
Indiana, and was one of a family of five children 
born to Garrison and Mary (Noe) .Testes. The 
other children all died when ^oung, and when our 
subject was but a few weeks old his parents re- 
moved to the Prairie State and located in Clinton 
County, where his father died Ijefore the son was a 
year old. A year later he suffered the double loss 
of his mother. 

One's tenderest sympathies are called forth at 
the idea of a helpless child being at the mercy of a 
thoughtless, vinai)preciative world and without 
friends, yet such was the state of our subject in his 
earliest youth. For several years he was without 
a liome, living with different people, but finally 
entered the family of William File. During this 
time he liad received little or no learning, being 
denied even that birthright of an American 
citizen, a good practical business education. He 



continued to live in the File family until the break- 
ing out of the war, and on .Tuly 2, 18(51, entered 
the service, joining Company- D, of the Third Illi- 
nois Cavalry. 

It would be tedious to enter into a detailed ac- 
count given in chronological order of our subject's 
army experience, suffice it to say that he rendered 
loyal service to the Union, and hazarded his life in 
many of the engagements that now take tlieii- place 
among the most noted of the world's battles. He 
was slightly wounded in the eng.agement at Pea 
Ridge, and on August 21, 1864, was taken prisoner 
by Forrest's army at Memphis, Tenn. He was in- 
carcerated in the rebel prison in C'ahaba, Ala., and 
there spent eight months and twelve days. Only 
one who has endured a similar experience can ap- 
preciate the torture, privations and tediousness of 
rebel prison life. From .Tanuary 1 to the 16th, 
the prison was flooded, and at no time was the 
water less than knee deep. His sufferings were 
added to in no little degree b^' seeing man}' of his 
comrades drowned. I'pon entering prison Mr. 
.Testes weighed one hundred and seventy-four 
pounds, but when finally released the strong man 
was reduced to a shadow of his former self, and 
weighed but ninety-four pounds. 

After the war, for a period of two years, our 
subject was unable to do any active work, but in 
February, 1867, he purchased a part of his present 
place and has made it his home ever since. He 
now owns two hundred and eighty acres of fertile 
and well-cultivated land which bears valuable im- 
provements. The thoroughness with which all 
branches of his farm work are finished is a distinct 
characteristic of the owner. 

In .lune of 186.5, our subject persuaded Martha 
R. Rankins to take up with him the journey of life. 
She was a daughter of .Tames E. Rankin, one of the 
pioneers of Bond County, who had been a school 
teacher for many years and who, as far back as 
1829, had held the office of County Clerk. He 
died December 2, 1878, at the home of oursubject. 

Mr. and Mrs. -Testes are the parents of eight chil- 
dren. The eldest, W. J., is the popular Postmaster of 
Sorento and is besides engaged in the furniture 
trade. He was born March .3, 1866, and in 1887 
married Miss Sallie Gill, a daughter of .Tames Gill, 




,^- 




(TfU^ (12 ,^ 




PORTRATT AND BIOGRAPHICAL EECORD. 



211 



of Mullieri-}' (Trove, tliis St-nto. James E. isack'rk 
ill Soreiito. The other children are named as fol- 
lows: ,Tosei)li Calvin, Lemuel Franklin. Winnie .1., 
Ilattie L., Sinah M., and Liila R., all of wliom are 
livinji; at home. Mr. Jester is a Repiifjlican, who 
never lets an opportunity slip to iniiiress upon his 
hearers the beauty of his party platform. He is an 
enthusiastic Crand Army of tlie Republic man, 
wliole-souled and warm-hearted, and numbers his 
frien<l.s bv the host. 



■^'OIIN B. DKNXY. After meeting the genial 
and open-heaited gentleman whose name 
adoi'iis this page, a stranger would soon 
discern that he is a descendant of that 
race to whom wit and humor are as natural as the 
breath tliey draw. Mr. Denny is a farmer liv- 
ing near Sorento, but to him the calling which is 
to so many a weariness and drudgery is enliv- 
ened by versatile humor and a sanguine disposi- 
tion. ISeside his farming operations, he holds the 
position of Treasurer of the Sorento Coal Com- 
pany. It is a notable fact that the majority f>f 
the i)roininent citizens in and about .Sorento are 
natives of this locality, and our subject is no ex- 
ceiilioii to wliat is the general rule. 

Mr. Denny was born witliin half a mile of his 
in'csent i)lacc of residence, his natal day being 
May ;5, 18;?',). He is a son of Robert W. and 
Eleanor (Finley) Denny. Elsewhere in this vol- 
ume, in the sketch of I. H. Denny, mention has 
been made of the ancestry and various move- 
ments of our subject's parents, hence wo will con- 
line ourselves to his individual history, mereiv 
slating that Robert W. Denny died about 184;'), 
and that his wife survived until 18sri, linally 
p.assiiig aw.ay in Kans.as, at the ri[)e old .age of 
eighty years. 

.1. 15. Denny grew to manhood's estate, receiv- 
ing mainly the training of a farmer's boy. He 
had acquired a very good education for his dav, 
anil at the age of nineteen vears began to teach 



school, devoting himself to his teaching in the 
winter and to farming in the summer. .Inly 7, 
1861, he went into the army, joining Coin|);iny E, 
of the First Illinois Cavalry. As a |irivate ho 
was in the siege of Lexington, and was slightly 
wounded in the right hand. He was also taken 
prisoner, but was paroled, and while enjoying 
this liam|)ered freedom was discharged from the 
service. 

January (i, 18(12, our subject was unile(l in 
marriage with Miss Olive Drossor, who was born 
in Bond County. She was a daughter of Rufus 
and Tamar (Cothren) Dressor, a family of Eng- 
lish extraction. Mrs. Denny's great-graiidfatlier 
came from the Old Country at an early date and 
settled in Massachusetts, where her grandfather 
was born. The old B.ay .State was also the birth- 
place of her father, Rufns Dressor. vvliose natal 
day was July 2'.b 171i."). He went to JVIaine when 
a young man and there married Tamar Cothren, a 
lady of Scotch-English extraction, though a native 
of the Pine Tree State, her birth having occurred 
February 12, 1797. Her |)arents made the trip 
from Maine to Illinois, taking the overl.and route, 
in 18.37, and her father died in this county Octo- 
ber 13, 1858. The mother survived until July 
17, 1880, when she jw-ssed away at the advanced 
age of eighty-three years. 

In 1864, Mr. Denny brought his family to the 
place where he now lives, and which immediateh' 
adjoins the farm where his father settled on fir.st 
coming to the State. Here he has been exten- 
sively engaged in farming and stock-raising. He 
was one of the parties most instnimental in devel- 
oping the Sorento coal mines, and is now and has 
for many years lieen the Treasurer of that com- 
pany. In early life he served foi- four years as 
.lustiee of the Peace, and h.as been many times 
identified with the school interests. In his party 
preference he is a Republican. He is devoted to 
the interests of the (Jrand Army of the Re|)ublic, 
and for three years was Commander of the post at 
Sorento. 

There have lieen three cliildren born to Mr. and 
jMrs. Denny. Of these lOlizabeth is the wife of 
Charles Oordinier, a native of Indiana, and one 
of the stockholders in the Sorento coal mine. 



212 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 



5I:\r\- Ellen is the wife of J. F. Harris, a young 
attorney at Sorento. JoJin Oren is a student at 
tlie Soutliern Illinois College, of Enfield, this 
State. Mr. Denny does not actively operate his 
farm to any great extent, leaving it to the charge, 
for the most part, of responsible parties who carry 
out his instructions. His time is mostly given to 
the development of the coal interests and other 
linancial enterprises on foot in Sorento and local- 
it_y. Mr. Denny was one of the three who acted 
as Commissioner in assessing the value of the con- 
demned right of way at the time the first rail- 
road, the Vandalia Line, was run through the 
count3'. He was also Census Enumerator for 
Short Creek Township in 1880 and 1890. 






]-^+ 



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'jfJOSEPH O. TANNEHILL is the popular 
I proijrietor of the Clover Leaf Hotel, of Cof- 
feen. 111., which is one of the best-kept and 
most popular hostelries in the county of 
Montgomery. Mr. Tannehill was born in St. Clair 
County, near Belleville, 111., February 2, 1841, a 
son of A. J. and Mary J. (Whitside) Tannehill, 
the former of whom was born in the Blue Grass 
regions of Kentucky, and the latter in St. Clair 
County, 111. A. J. Tannehill was taken by his 
parents to St. Clair County, 111., when he was 
about two years of age, and iiis father, James B. 
Tannehill, became the owner of the first gristmill 
of Belleville, as well as of the first hotel and the 
first whiskey distillery. He was bora, reared and 
married in Kentucky, but was of Scotch descent. 
The maternal grandfather, William T. AVhitside, 
was a N'irginian, of Irish descent, and one of the 
first settlers of St. Clair Couut_v, 111. lie was a 
brother of (Jen. Samuel A. Whitside, a noted pio- 
neer of the Sucker State. 

The parents of Joseph (). Tannehill were mar- 
ried within three miles of Belleville, 111., soon 
after which they located in the town, where the 
father followed the occupation of carpentering 
and building, these occupations receiving his at- 



tention for manj' years. His last da3'S were spent 
in St. Louis, where he died at the age of seventy- 
six years, his wife dying at seventy-two years of 
age, and they are now sleeping side b}^ side in the 
Bellefontaine Cemetery at St. Louis. They were 
the parents of ten children, seven sons and three 
daughters, all of whom grew to mature years with the 
exception of one daughter. Those now living are: 
Joseph O.; Andrew J., of St. Louis; G. William, of 
Kansas City; Samuel A., of St. Louis; and George 
W., also of St. Louis. Those deceased are: James 
AV., Mary, John, Lutiea and Anna. 

Jose|)h O. Tannehill is the second of this family 
and was reared in St. Clair County, where he ob- 
tained a practical education in the common 
schools, and remained with and faithfully- assisted 
his father until he had attained twenty-one years 
of age. He then determined to seek his fortune in 
California, and crossed the plains with a horse- 
team, via Salt Lake City, to Sacramento City, 
where he worked in a lumber yard and at mining 
and also followed the latter occupation in various 
localities for nearly two years. At the end of 
this time he returned home via Graytown to New 
York City, where he remained three days, thence 
going to St. Louis and finally to Belleville. He and 
his brother, James W., then engaged in coal-mining 
four miles east of the town, an occupation that 
received their attention for about one year. May 
12, 1864, Mr. Tannehill married Miss Sarah E. 
Blackburn, who was born in Montgomery County, 
111., a daughter of G. W. Blackburn. 

Soon after his marriage, Mr. Tannehill located 
on a farm in East Fork Township, where he tilled 
the soil for about twenty-seven years, but sold out 
in 1891, and took up his residence in Coffeen, 
where he began keeping hotel, for which business 
he has shown a remarkable aptitude. The estab- 
lishment is well- patronized, as it deserves to be, 
for it is conducted in a very praiseworthy manner 
and the table is well supplied with wholesome and 
well-prepared food, and the rooms are kept ver}' 
clean and in good order. Mr. Tannehill is part 
owner of one of the best threshing machines in 
the county, which is very completely fitted up. 
He and his wife are the parents of five daughters 
and three sons: Naomi, wife of AV. O. May; Mary 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



213 



A., wife (if .Tefft'i>fiii Ilill; (!u>t;i\'us A., Bessie; 
Laura E., wife of William Millei', of Ilillsboro, 111.; 
George W., Susan C. anrl Joseph W. iSIr. Tanne- 

lull has always supported Deuiocratie |iriueiples, 
liul has never been very aetively interested in 
polities. 



m 



iJ OIIN J. CASS, one of the honored pioneers 
of Jlontgoniery County, and a [irominent 
retired farmer, nctw residing in the thriving 
town of K.aymond. is a native of the Buck- 
eye State. He was born in Warren C'ounty, Se|)- 
tenilier If), 1825, and is a son of John and Martha 
(Swallow) Cass, llie former a native of Kentucky, 
and the latter of Pennsylvania. They were of 
English and Irish extraction respectively, and 
were pioneer settlers of Ohio, ha^■ing located in 
AVarren County at an early date. 

In 18.S2 the family emigrated liy team to Illinois 
and located upon the |)rairies of Montgomery 
County. They located in Kayinond Townshiji, 
south of the site of tlie village fif that name, al- 
though there was no settlement at the place at 
that time, and the inhabitants of the county wei'e 
very few. There were no lailroads; the land was 
still in its priniilive condition and the work of 
progress and civilization seemed scarcely begun. 
j\[r. Cass began the development of the farm on 
section 31 , which our subjet't now owns, luit was 
not long permitted to enjoy his new home, lieing 
called to his tinal rest in 18.'54. The mother was 
thus left witli a family of sexen children and with 
liut limited means. She displayed great energy 
and heroism in the care of the children, whom slie 
kept together, making f(.)r them a home. She was 
a lady of good education, and to help sup))Ort her 
family 0[iened a school in her ow-n home, and thus 
Ind the honor of teaching the first school in the 
township. Her death occurred in 18i')2. 

Our subject was the only son in the family of 
seven children, the youngest of whom was born 
after the father's death. Only three are now li\'- 



ing. His sisters are: Augusta, wife of Harrison 
INIits, a farmer of Hayuiond Towiishii>, and Ivouisa, 
widow of Frank Ilitchings, of the same township. 

Ml-. Cass, whose name heads this record, was 
reared to manhood amid the wild scenes of front- 
ier life, and in his boyhood was early inured to the 
hard labors of the farm. He worked in the (ields 
and aided his mother until her death. As a com- 
panion and helpmate on life's journey he chose 
Miss Helen Lawler, a native of White Coiintv. 111., 
and a representative of one of the early families 
of that locality. Their union was celebrated on 
the I7th of June, 18.',(;. and unto them were born 
live children, of w^hom one died in iiifanc\-. Tlie 
other four are now living: William S. is a veterin- 
ar\- surgeon and liveryman of liaymoud; Nora 
A. is the wife of Joseph Williams, of liutler Crove 
Townshii); JMary was joined in wedlock with Frank 
Welshaiid and they resid,. in Litchlield; Lula B., 
who completes the family, is living with her pa- 
rents in Raymond. 

Mr. Cass followed farming throughout his busi- 
ness career, and although he started out in life 
empty-handed, has worked his way steadily up- 
ward to a position of wealth and allbience. In 
1880 he left the farm, which, however, he still 
owns, and removed to Raymond, where he is li\- 
ing retired, enjoying the rest which he has so Irulv 
earned and richly deserves. He is a pleasant, ge- 
nial gentleman, who has many friends and is held 
in the highest regard throughout the conimunit\-. 



^^7. USTIN .AIlLl.l'MJ.a prominent resident and 
^S^/ -'I leading agriculturist of Pitman 'I'own- 
Ijl '* ship, Moutgomery County, successfully 
'^1 manages one of the finest farms in the 

State of Illinois. The broad acres (two hundred 
and forty in extent) are mostly under a high state 
of cultivation and evidence the judgment and 
kiK.iwIcdge of their owner. The desirable location 
of the land uiion section 15 makes this a valuable 



214 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



holding and inheritance for onr subject's de- 
scendants. 

Mr Miller is a native of Madison Count3', III., 
and was born .lanuary 26, 1848. His father was 
a native Tcnnesseean, wliile his mother's birtli 
took place in Illinois. His paternal grandfather 
emigrated from his native State to Illinois at a 
very earl3' day and was a noted pioneer of Madi- 
son County, wliere Madison Miller, the fatlier of 
our suljject, spent many 3ears and where he was 
married. The father and mother of Austin Miller 
settled in Montgomery County in IS.'iS, locating 
on a fsrm near the [jresent site of Raymond vil- 
lage, but in a short time they removed to Pitman 
Township and tlierc remaiTied permanently. Tiie 
father died many years ago; the motlier still sur- 
vives and continues her residence upon the old 
homestead. 

Our suljject was one of a family of seven chil- 
dren, five of whom are now living. The brothers 
and sisters are Lucinda, wife of Alexander Woods; 
Austin, Loftin R., Buford and Charles F. Tlie |)i- 
oneer father was a sturdy Democrat of the good 
old-fashioned kind. He and his wife were mem- 
bers of the Christian Churcli and zealous workers 
in the cause of moraiit}' and religion. The ven- 
erable widow, now nearly eighty years of age, is 
one of the oldest pioneers in her section of the 
country, and lias a store of valuable and most in- 
teresting reminiscences of early days in the new 
and then rugged Wesc. Her maiden name wa.s 
Sarah Finley, and she came of good descent. 

Austin Miller has been a life-long farmer, and 
has three times made unbroken prairie land into 
im])roved and valuable farms, in each instance 
finding large returns for his skillful cultivation. 
Our subject was married March 24, 1885, to Miss 
Celia A. Haynes. This attractive lady is a native 
of Macoupin County, 111., and was born April 4, 
1860, a daughter of Martin and Pha-be (Loper) 
Haynes. Her father came to Macoupin County 
in early times, and when Mrs. Miller was but six 
years old her mother died; three daughters now 
survive her: Celia, Kmma T. and .lennie L. 

Our suljject and his wife have four children: 
John M., Charles A., Mattie E. and Daniel. 
Though yet in their early childhood they give 



promise of noble manhood and womanhood. Mr. 
Miller has had a prosperous career as a tiller of 
the soil, and aside from his valuable homestead 
owns a valualile farm of one hundred and sixty 
acres in Adams County, Neb. He is just in the 
prime of life, and, with his energy and wide knowl- 
edge of agricultural work, is sure to achieve 
greater success in the future than he has in the 
past. 

Mr. Miller was a participant in the late Civil 
AVar, as, though but eighteen years old at the 
time, he gallantly answered to his country's call, 
and enlisted in Company A, One Hundred 
and Forty-ninth Illinois Infantrj', January 26, 
186."), and was honorably mustered out in 1866, 
at the close of the war. During his service he 
was under Gen. Thomas and did garrison duty at 
Block-houses Nos. 7 and 8, and was at Chickamauga 
River, Dalton, Marietta and Atlanta. As he was 
then ready to serve his country with all the ardor 
of a patriotic boy, Austin Miller is to-day the 
same in spirit, a true and representative American 
citizen. 



4^ 



.ip^ AMUEL M. GRUBBS. The prominent re- 
^^^ sident of Litchfield, 111., whoso name 
1(L/_3) opens this article is the President of the 
First National Bank of Litchfield, to 
which prominent office he was elected in 1890. 
This bank was organized .lune 20, 1889, with a 
capital stock of $100,000, with .1. R. Whitney as 
President, S. M. Grubbs as \'ice-president, and 
with Eli Miller as Cashier. At the following 
election, S. M. Grubbs was made President, T. C. 
Kirkland became Vice-[)resident, and Eli Miller 
continued as Cashier, and are the present otti- 
cers. The business has been prosperous from the 
beginning, and has a surplus of §4,000. 

The gentleman who now occupies the most 
prominent (losition in flic city of Litchfield was 
born in Hillsboro, III., August 12, 183;'). His 
father, Moody Grubbs, was a native of Kentucky, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



215 



.and in tlial St;ite he niarriod Cynthia A. Roone, 
wlio was a grand niece of the great Daniel Boone, 
ttie liero of tale and song. Moody was a nie- 
fhanic, and lie and his young wife eanie to tliis 
State at an earl^' da}' and made Ilillshoro their 
home. Here they lived until the death of Mr. 
Grubhs, which sad event took i)iace when our sub- 
ject was a babe of only two years. His mother 
possessed some of the char.acteristics of her illus- 
trious ancestor, and kept her family witli her, car- 
ing for them until the time came wiien they were 
able to care for her. Our subject was reared in 
Hillsbori.!, went to school, and at an early age 
began to earn his own livelihood. He first be- 
came a clerk, and then went into the drug busi- 
ness on his own account for a short time, and 
then enlarged his business and became a general 
merchant. He was attentive to his liusiness and 
his customers, and was considered a rising young 
man, but in I860 he concluded to remove to 
Litchfield, where he thought he could do better. 
It is this seizing of op|)ortunities which often 
turns the scale in a man's life. He l>ecame very 
successful, as the business habits and the agreeable 
manners of his earlier j'ears continued with him, 
and he only sold out his mercantile interests in 
1H(;8 to engage in the banking business. The 
lirm name of the association was Brewer, Seymour 
it Co., and when Mr. Seymour retired the lirm lie- 
came I5re\ver & Grubbs. Finally, JSIr. Grubbs suc- 
ceeded Mr. Brewer, and the business was contin- 
ued as S. M. (irubbs it Co., and that continued 
until the organization bf the First Kational Bank, 
as above stated. The First ^National liank now 
owns the fine building where the business is car- 
nod on, and it is the most modern structure in 
the city. The Litchfield Libraiy is also located in 
it, and it is the center of the commercial interests 
of the place. Our subject has been interested in 
many of the liusiness ventures in Litchfield, and 
lie owns s(.inie very valuable real estate. A busi- 
ness block on State Street is in his possession, and 
a valualile farm in the country, consisting of [\\v 
hundred acres of valualile improved property, be- 
longs to him. He now holds the |i(isition of 
Treasurer of the Litchfield Marble Conipuin. also 
Treasurer of the Oil City Building and Loan 



Association, and for man\' years has been Presi- 
dent of the Libraiy and Reading Room, a valu- 
able ac(iuisition to the city. In the year 187 L 
his fellow-citizens elected him to the most 

honorable position in their gift that of M.ayor 

of the city. He was also made Treasurer of 
the city two terms, and served with credit and 
to the satisfaction of all. 

The marri.age of Mr. Oriibbs took place in Hills- 
boro, with Miss Mary Birewer, second daughter of 
Judge Brewer, of Ilillsboro. Seven children were 
the result of his union, four of whom died 
in infancy; Ella married (;. W. Alterberry, and 
died leaving one child. Hazel. INLamie is the wife 
of E. R. Davis, the assistant of the bank, and the 
other daughter, Lila, became the wife of E. R. 
Elliott, of this city. Jlrs. (iriibbs died in 1888, 
and our subject married Mrs. Bottle A. (Beach) 
White, on Ajiril 80, I HIM). 

Mr. Grubbs has atliliated with the prominent 
orders of a social nature in this city, and holds a 
desirable position in JJtchfield Lodge No. 517, A. 
F. X' A. M., and is a member also of the Knights 
of Honor. He has long been a iirominent mom- 
bcr of the Methodist Church, in which he is a 
Trustee and Steward. His social position in the 
city is of the highest, and in all the relations of 
life he is a man to be admired and resiiected. 



V 

r- 



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R. S. H. MiLEAN. Few, perhaps none 

save those who have trod the arduous 

f^ paths of the profession, can picture to 

themselves the array of attributes, physical, 
mental and moral, and the host of minor graces of 
manner and (lersoii essential to the making of a. 
truly successful physician. His constitution must 
needs be of the hardiest, to withstand the constant 
shock of wind and weather, the wearing loss of 
sleoii and rest, the over-gathering load of care, 
and the insidious approach of every form of fell 
disease to which his daily round of duties mo- 
mentarily expose him. Free and broad should be 



216 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



his mind to seek in all departments of human 
knowledge some truth to guide his hand; keen 
and delicate the well-trained sense, to di'aw from 
nature her most treasured secrets and unlock the 
gates where ignorance and doubt have stood sen- 
tinel for ages. 

Closely approaching the ideal we have attempted 
to sketch in the aliove paragraph is Dr. S. II. Mc- 
Lean, one of the most prominent physicians and 
surgeons of Ilillsboro, 111. He is a native-born 
resident of Montgomery County, 111., having been 
born six miles south of Ilillsboro, on a farm, April 
12, 1849. His father, Robinson INIc Lean, was l)orn 
in the old North State, and he grew to manhood 
tliere. Led by the promises of the Western prairies 
of Illinois, he came direct to Montgomery- County, 
and entered land from the Government. His 
father, William McLean, was a descendant of 
Scottish ancestors. Our subject's mother, whose 
maiden name was Emma Barr}', is a native of 
Kentucky, and is now residing on the old home- 
stead in Montgomery' County. The latter 's father, 
Richard Barry, it is supposed was a native of 
Kentuek.y, and was one of the early settlers of Illi- 
nois. The parents of our subject had born to their 
union seven children, four daughters and three 
sons, all of whf>m grew to mature years and are 
now living. Onl}' one is unmarried. 

Dr. McLean, the second in order of liirth of the 
above-mentioned children, became familiar with 
the tedious details of farm life at an early age, and, 
like the average country boy, received his tirst 
educational advantages in the district schools. 
Desiring a more complete education, he entered 
Ilillsboro Academy and remained there during 
18(J7 and 1868, after which he entered Lincoln 
I'niversity at Lincoln, 111., and was graduated at 
the E. ]\1. Institute of Cincinnati, Ohio, in the 
year 187 1. The same year he located at Donncllson, 
111., and entered actively n|)on the practice of his 
]irofession. In 1877, he came to Ilillsboro and 
immediately entered upon a successful career as a 
practitioner of the healing art. Since the year of 
1871, he has devoted his life to the highest tem- 
poral mission among men, a combat with disease 
and deatli, and his elli(nency. skill and signal suc- 
cess iu this calling are well known. 



Dr. McLean is a member of the Montgomery 
County iledical Society, and is a member of the 
Illinois State Medical and National Medical Asso- 
ciations. He is a member of Mt. Moriah Lodge 
No. 51, A. E. & A. M., also of Ilillsboro Lodge of 
the Modern Woodmen. He is examining ph.ysi- 
cian for many of the insurance conipanips, and is 
President of the Pension Examining Board, which 
meets at Litchfield weekly. He is a good Repub- 
lican, and was Mayor of the city of Ilillsboro in 
1887 and 1888, during the time the water works 
were established, and many other improvements 
were made. The Doctor is now Chairman of the 
Repulilican Central Committee of jMontgomery 
County, and is a member of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Cluircii and a Trustee of the same. The Doe- 
tor selected his wife in the person of Miss Lina 
Kerr, and tliey were married in September, 1875. 
Mrs. IMcLean was born in the Bucke3'e State, but 
was reared in Illinois. Her parents were Robert 
and Caroline (Hughes) Kerr. Dr. and Mrs. Mc- 
Lean have one son, Benjamin ()., who was born 
Eebruary 2, 1886. 



EONIDAS HARD. The Buckeye State has 
9i', contributed to Illinois many estimable cit- 
izens, but she has contrilmted none more 
worthy of respect and esteem than the subject of 
this sketch, who is one of the intelligent farmers 
and prominent citizens of Montgomery County. 
He keeps thoroughly abreast of the times in the 
im]>rovements and progress made in his calling, is 
well informed on the curreul topics of the day, 
and converses with intelligence and judgment on 
leading subjects. He is one of those much-valued 
citizens whose constancy to the business in hand 
and whose thrift have added greatly to the value 
of the fine agricultural regions of this part of the 
State. 

Our subject was born in Scioto County, Ohio, 
September 16, 1839, and was the next youngest iu 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



217 



n family of eleven children born to Jonathan and 
Sophia (White) Hard, earl\' settlers of Ohio. 
\'er_v little has Ijeeii learned of the ancestors on 
eitiier side, Init Mr. Hard's mother was born not 
far from the city of lioston, Mass., and his fatiier 
in one of the Eastern States. The latter died 
when our subject was alioiit five years of age, and 
left a widow and eleven children, nine of whom 
are yet living, and scattered thr<.iugli different 
States. Two served in tiie late war. .losepli served 
for more than four years m the First Illinois Cav- 
alry, and Fifty-fourtli Illinois Infantry, and is now 
a resident of the Lone Star State; and 15. S. served 
in the (_)nc Ilundreil and Twenty-sixth Illinois In- 
fantry, and is now living in Marion County, 
III. 

When the original of this sketcli was about ten 
years of age, he came to Illinois to make his home 
with a brother-in-law, A. Kellog, and from that 
day he had to make his own way in life. All he 
lias obtained in the way of tins world's goods is 
the result of his own good fighting iiualities, and 
as he had ^■ery limited educational adxantages iu 
his youth, much cri'dit is due him for his success. 
When the war broke out he was anxious to enlist 
in defense of the Stars and Stripes, but his mother, 
who had also reino\'ed to Montgomery County, 
greatly- objected to his going, as two of her sons 
were already in the field. However, wlien it was 
seen that a long struggle was inevitable, our sub- 
ject determined that he would enlist anyway, and 
on August !i, 1H()2, lu' became a member of Com- 
pany F, One Hundied and Twenty-sixth I lliiiois 
Infantry. 

This regiment saw much hard service, but its 
<luties were not <in the liattle-field much of the 
time. In all the long marches, battles, sieges, and 
skinnishes of this regiment, j\lr. Hard was ever at 
his post, and no braver soldier ever trod the red 
sod of a battle-lield. On Bank's cx|icditioii up 
the Red River lie took a severe cold that settled 
in his eyes, and f(.ir about six years after the war 
he was almost blind. He still suffers greatly with 
his eyes, and probalily will the remainder of his 
days. He was mustered out at Pine iiluff, Ark., 
.luly 12, ISi;.'), and returned to Montgomery 
Cuunly, where he began tilling the soil. He was 



married in that county in ISCIi, to IMiss Isadora 
Burk, also a native of the Buckeye State. About 
this time ^Nlr. Hard bought his first [)iece of land, 
to which he added from time to time, until he 
now has a very fine large farm. He is progressive 
and advanced in his ideas on agricultural subjects, 
and his fine farm is fine of the most productive 
and best cultivated in the countv. Ilis marriage 
resulted in the birth of three children, a^ follows: 
Ida F., wife of R. I). Stanley, a farmer in Audubon 
Township; Laura L., a young lad\', is at home with 
her parents; and Leonard W., the youngest child, 
is also at home. Mv. Hard is a stanch adherent of 
Republican principles, and belongs to the firand 
Army of the Republic, being a charter member of 
the post at Nokomis. His mother died while on a 
visit to Indiana in 1880, when eighty-fdur years 
of age. 



-^>^^<m^ 



/fW' ^'-^'^f^^^^ -"^^ IJ<>*''I''I^^- Fitclifield is the 
l\ r '■Gsi'^lciii^''' L'ity of many of tlu^ wealthy re- 
\~^ tired agriculturists who are exempt from 
active i)artici|iation in farm interests by virtue of 
years and accumulated results of the toil of those 
years. Of these our subject was one, and his ex- 
perience as a farmer was such as to enalile him to 
spend his later years in comfort and elegance, as 
one of the most prominent citizens cif Litchfield. 
In his death, which occurred September 8, 1892, 
the county lost one of its noblest citizens and most 
upright men. 

Our subject w-as born in Jlon mouth County, N. 
.1., November 4, 18211. He was a son of William 
II. and Anna (Pryne) Rogers. The former had 
adopted farming as his calling, and located about 
one and one-half miles north of Jersey ville in 1829. 
.Viiout 18.">2, he removed to Macoupin County, 
just north of Bunker Hill, and continued t<i reside 
there until the time of his death. 

Charles Rogers was sent to school near .lersey- 
ville, and his knowleilge of the "rule of three," 
Murray and Webster were acquired in a log- school- 



218 



FORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



house, where, althoug^h the methods of teaching 
were primitive, loyal American citizens were turned 
out after finishing their course. He remained with 
his father until of age, and September 30, 1856, 
took upon himself the obligations of married life, 
his l)ride being Miss Edith E. Sinclair. During 
the earl3' part of the following year, the young 
couple came to Zanesville Township, and there 
purchased a farm comprising eighty acres of prai- 
rie land. From time to time they added to tliis 
original holding until they possessed three hun- 
dred acres. Tiiis was cultivated and improved 
witii a good class of buildings, and made for the 
family a comfortable home until February, 1888, 
when our .suliject removed to Litchfield, having 
purchased a site for a home in the northeastern 
portion of the town, on the corner of Walnut and 
Taylor Streets. Here he built a fine residence, 
which is now the family home, and from the rental 
of the farm they derive a handsome income. 

Jlrs. Rogers is a native of Gre'ene County, 111., 
and was born December 18, 183(). She is a daugh- 
ter of J. and Rebecca (Parks) Sinclair. The former 
was a native of Tennessee. Our subject and his 
wife are the paients of one daughter, Rebecca, now 
the wife of E. W. Gore. They reside in Litciilield, 
and have one daughter, who is named Editli E. 
Mr. Rogers was a stanch Republican, rcad.y to do 
anything in hi.s power to suppt)rt the ]irincii)los of 
his party. He was one of the hon()ral)le and hon- 
ored men of his count\', and his death is counted a 
public loss. 



» ■ » ^ H 'i ^ i 



,|p*^ AMUEL LEF;. In mentioning tliose of 
^^^ foreign birth who have become closely as- 
l(l/_^; sociated with the business interests of 
Montgomery County, 111., we should not 
fail to |)rescnt an outline of the career of Mr. Lee, 
for he is one who has fully borne out the re|)uta- 
tion of tlial class of industrious, energetic and far- 
seeing men of English nati\ily who have risen to 
prominence iu different portions of this country. 



Mr. Lee is at present the leading merchant of Witt, 
111., and in all the business relations of life he has 
acquitted himself with credit and honor. Person- 
all}-. Ml-. Lee is held in the highest esteem, is a 
man of sterling integrity, and is honored alike for 
his business and social standing. He keeps a choice 
stock of goods, is prompt and reliable, and has a 
large and increasing trade. Although young in 
years, he has already won .an enviable reputation 
as a l)usiness man, 

Mr. Lee was born in Somersetshire, England, 
in is'oveniber, 185G, and is a son of Charles Lee, 
who followed agricultural pursuits in England for 
many years. The elder Mi\ Lee, thinking to bet- 
ter his condition in every way, immigrated to the 
United States in 1871, and made his way toward 
the Sucker State, settling on a farm in M.acou- 
pin County. He was a man possessed of much 
energy and ambition, and was fairly successful as 
an .agriculturist. Our subject was but fifteen years 
of age when he crossed the ocean to America, and 
he grew to mature years on the farm iu JLacoupin 
County, receiving but a limited education in the 
common schools. However, he possessed an un- 
usually good head for business, and a v.ast amount 
of energy, perseverance and industry, all of which 
have contributed very materially to his success. 
He assisted his father in cultivating the farm un- 
til he had reached mature years, and in 1882 came 
to ]\rontgomer3' County, where he w.as engaged in 
tilling the soil until 1887, At this date he opened 
a general store in Witt, and here he has since been 
engaged in a very successful business. His father 
also removed to Montgomery County in 1882, and 
is now residing on his farm about two miles from 
the town. 

Our subject was united in marriage with Miss 
Delia Balsley, a daughter of a prominent fanner of 
Nokomis Township, and a native of the I'rairie 
State. She is a lady of much refinement and highly 
esteemed for her many womanly virtues. One child 
has come to brighten their pleasant liome, Hurrell, 
a bright boy, born in the spring (jf 181)2. In 
addition to his fine stock of goods. Ah-. Lee is also 
the owner of his stcire Iniilding and a good resi- 
dence in Wilt. He is one of the public-spirited 
men of the town, is active in his support of all en- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



221 



terprises tending toward the improvement and de- 

vclo|iment of the county, ijives lil)orally of liis 
means to all cluirclius and seliools, and is one of 
the foremost men. In political matters, he is 
idenlilied with the Democratic party, but takes no 
part in politics, and has never held an office. 



r 



*^*^* 



01 IIRISTI AN LINCK, M. D. .Vmong the names 
_, hold in honor in Litclilield, tliat which In- 
^ /l troduces these lines has for ni.-iny years oc- 
cupied a prominent |)lacc. He who hears it came 
here m 1807 and has since borne an important part 
in the growth of the city, maintaining an unw^as- 
ing interest in its prosperity and contributing to 
its upbuilding. Some mention of his ancestry and 
personal history will, in view of his prominence, 
lie of especial interest to our readers. 

The fatlicr of our subject was a German resident 
of Wurteraberg, Germany, where Christian was 
born September 8, 1828. In his native jilace he 
passed his boyhood and meanwhile attended the 
schools taught in his native language. In 1846 
with his father he came to America, and located in 
the city of Baltimore, iMd., where he went to school 
in order to gain a knowledge of the English lan- 
guage, lie was verv apt, and his quick mind was 
spurred on by the desire to become a iihysician, so 
that his progress was .astonishing. In Baltimore 
he read medicine and took his lirst lectures in the 
Allopathic school, from which he wa'^ giaduated in 

After practicing his (irofcssion for a time in Bal- 
timore, Dr. Linck became interested in the new 
school of Homeopath V. and in order to pursue his 
investigations thoroughly, he wentto Phi!a<lcl|iliia 
and took a course in the college of Homeopathy 
tliere, graduating in 1853. Next we find liim in 
Virginia, where, however, he did not rennun long, 
but proceeded to Oliio and prnctici'd Ihcre iinlil he 
decided to visit Chieago. He went from the l.-itter 
fity to Me.vico and in 1867 he ciinio to IJtchlicld, 



where he has since remained, giving his attention to 
his extensive practice. His profession.al labors and 
good judgment have been rewarded by the acqui- 
sition of a large property, and in his lovely home 
h(^ has all the comforts which enhance the happiness 
of life. 

Dr. Linck is a member of the Whit-egross Lodge, 
Knights of Pythias, uniformed rank, and is also 
identified with the Slasonic order, both in Clia()ter 
and Commandery. He holds membershi)) in the 
Ilomeoiiatliic Western Academy. In his political 
preference, he is a Democrat, ever loyal to party 
principles. The home of our subject is presided 
over by the lad^- who was once INIiss S()])hia Laub, 
and one child, Elizalielh, has lieen l)orn into the 
household. The Doctor is an owner of considerable 
valuable real estate in this place and has done his 
share toward advancing the interests of the com- 
munity. His life has been a busy one, for he has 
always been quick to respond to the call of distress, 
and all organizations for the |niblic weal have 
found in him a hearty sup[iorter. Ileattiliates with 
the Lutheran Church, which is that of his fore- 
fathers. 









w 



OSEPH M. DONNKLL, a retired farmer 
and prominent, citizen of ( ireemille, was 
born in (iuilford County, N. C, .lune 1(1, 
1 .SU;, and is of Irish descent. The great- 
grandfather of oui- subject, Thomas Donnell, was 
a native (jf the Ihnerald Isle, but was forced to 
leave the country on account of religious persecu- 
tion, and in I7.'!l, braving the dangers of an 
ocean voyage in that early day, came to America 
with seven brothers and three sisters. They set- 
tU'dnc.Mr I'liiladelphia, I'a., where Thomas Dmi- 
nell spent the remainder of his life, dying at a 
ripe old age. lie came of Scotch ancestry, who 
were forced to leave their native country on ac- 
eoiinl of r<'ligious trouble, and went to the North 
of Ireland. The grandparents, .lolui ;uid l-]liza- 
belli (Denny ) Donneli. were natix'cs of the Ke\\ 



222 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



stone State. Tlie former became a Major during 
the Revolutifniary War and valiantly aided the 
Colonies in their struggle for independence. 

George Donnell, father of our subject, was born 
in Guilford County, N. C, Jul}' 1, 1793, and died 
Ai)ril 1(), 1H77, at the age of eiglity-three years, 
nine months and fifteen days. He established the 
first Sunday-school in Southern Illinois. This 
school was commenced on .Saturday, when spell- 
ing, reading and writing were taught, and on 
Sunday the children were trained in Bible lessons. 
AVhen a young man, Mr. Donnell joined the I'res- 
byterian Church under the preaching of the Rev. 
Dr. Caldwell, who for sixty years was pastor of 
the Buffalo Church of Guilford County, N. C.,and 
was ever a great church worker and a faithful 
Christian gentleman. He came to this count}' in 
1819, and located on Big Shoal Creek, seven 
miles west of Greenville. His wife was also prom- 
inent in church work, and the children all lie- 
came Presbyteiians. The family numbered ten 
children, six of Mhom are now living: Joseph M., 
William N., James M., (Jeorge W., Henry C. and 
Mrs. Emily McCoy. 

Our subject was the eldest of the family and 
was three years old when his parents came to this 
county. He was educated in the subscription 
schools, where the children all studied aloud, each 
one seemingly trying to outdrown the others. He 
remained under the parental roof until twenty- 
four years of age, when his father gave him one 
liundred and fifteen acres of land, the same amount 
that he gave to all of his sons except one, who re- 
ceived his portion in nionej'. The farm thus 
given to Joseph is located partly in La Grange and 
partly in Central Township, but he first made his 
home in La Grange. He afterward purchased other 
land in Central Townsliip, erected a fine house, 
barns and f)tlier outbuildings, and there made his 
home until 1S77, when he came to Greenville, 
where he built a beautiful and commodious resi- 
dence, on the corner of Sixth and Summer Streets, 
where he has since resided. 

INIr. Donnell was first marrieil in IHlOtf) Miss 
Mary J. Mon-ison. of Ililishoro. Montgomery 
County, 111., and unio lluun were l)orn live chil- 
dren, all (if wliiiin arc yet liyjug; Clarissa, the wife 



of A. C. Phelps, has the following children: Horace, 
Idell, Harlow and Enid, twins; Ada A. is the wife 
of Jacol) Brown; Lcnora is the wife of George N. 
Wheeler, and has a daughter, Edna; Chalmers mar- 
ried Juliet Hardin, and has two sons, Joseph 
and Chalmers; and Arthur M. The mother of 
this family died February 14, 18G2, and Mi. Don- 
nell was again married, August 2(J, 1869, his sec- 
ond union being with Mrs. Anna F. Catlin,of 
Hayworlh, jVIcLean County, 111., a daughter of 
Amos A. and Minerva (Cary) Franklin, who were 
natives of Connecticut and came to Illinois "in 
1847. The father engaged in farming until his 
death, in 18.')8, at the age of seventy-three years. 
His wife died in 1859, at the age of seventy-two 
years. Mrs. Donnell was the sixth in their fam- 
ily of nine children, five of whom are yet living: 
Amos A.. Hannah C, .Sarah F., Anna F. and Mary 
I). By her first husband, Mrs. Donnell had one 
son, Franklin I. Catlin, now a resident of Ken- 
tucky. 

While residing in La (irange Tonnship, Mr. Don- 
nell served as School Director for some seventeen 
years, and was also Town Supervisor. He is a 
Republican in politics, and both he and his wife 
are members of the Presbyterian Church, in which 
he serves as Elder. His life has been one of up- 
rightness, well worthy of emulation, and by fair 
dealing, perseverance and enterprise he has ac- 
quired a handsome property. 



<§ 



— -l^H-^l 



'^OHN WEITEKAMP, a prominent citizen of 
I Pitman Township, is now .serving his fellow- 
^ 1 citizens as Highway Commissioner. He is 
^^^J' a native son of the Prairie State, and one 
who has done as much as any one in his section 
for her advancement and material prosperity. 

Our subject was the eldest son of Frank and 
There.sa (Langen) Weitekamp, who were natives 
of (iermany, and who caine to America at an early 
day, and became pioneer settlers of Greene County, 
Jll, The revered father died JJeeember 28, 1869, 



PORTI^VIT AND I5I0GRAPHICAL EECORD. 



but his mother is In my in peaii' and comfort in 
Christian County, in [lossession of her faculties 
and able to look back upon a useful life and for- 
ward to her reward in another world. 

The birth of Mr. 'Weitekanii) took place ,lune 13, 
1858, in Greene County. 111., and there he was 
reared until, during tlie Civil War, his family re- 
moved to Christian County, and there he grew to 
nianJK'od in Kicks Townshi|>. His training was 
for an agriculturist's life, and so well did he learn 
the mysteries of soils and grains, of rainy seasons 
and drouths, with the proper means of taking ad- 
vantage of one and .protective measures against 
the other, that he has made success of ills farming 
life. 

The wife selected by i\[r. Weitekanni comliined 
in her mind and i)erson those qualities which 
make a good woman attractive to a (|iiiet, sen- 
sible young man. Her name was Christena A. 
Strasser; she was the daughter of .lacob and Eliza- 
beth Strasscr, and her birth took place in New Or- 
leans, Ija. The wedding of Mr. and INIrs. Weide- 
kamp occurred April 18, 1882, and now four chil- 
dren have been added to thefamilv: Henry W., 
Frederick J., Edward .T. and Iamki C. 

In 188(1, our suliject was attracted to the rich 
land that was for sale in l\Iontgoinery County, and 
he realized that here was an f)pportunity of a life- 
time. He came and settled in I'itnrui Township 
on eighty acres of land. and here he has remained 
I)erfectly contented to pass the remainder of his 
days in the pleasant ^pot where g(.)od fortune has 
placed him. When only nineteen years old, he 
was obliged to start out for himself, and went to 
work as so many other self-made men have done 
licfore and since, and made himself a desirable 
hand on the farm on account of his practical 
knowledge. He had no trouble in getting em- 
l)lovmen1. .Mnd his progress has been upward ever 
since. 

The politics of Mr. Weitekam|) are of Demo- 
cratic tendencies, and he permits nothing to in- 
terfere with his casting his ballot for his favorite 
candidates. He has been honored by his fellow- 
citizens with 1-he position of Highw.ay Coiiimis- 
sioner, a very important one in a couiit\ , and so 
well has \)Q t])led the situation that lie is now serv- 



ing his second term. Our suliject is one of tlie 
most |)romiiient and inlluential members of the Ro- 
man Catholic Church, and is a man who commands 
the res|)ect of all of his neighbors. His life has 
been oiu' of uprightness in their midst, and he de- 
serves the esteem in which he is held. 



kS'^'Sl^.l®^^ 




IL\REE.S AVESI.EV (i.MHHSON is a promi- 
nent stockman and at present the Super- 
^i^' visor of Sli(.)al Creek Townshiii, Bond 
County, and resides one and a-half miles east of 
Sorento. Mi-. ( iarrison was born in Walshville 
Township, Montgomery County, this State, Sep- 
tember 1 1, l.sr)3. He w.as next to the youngest of 
a family of ten chililrcu born to Taylor and Susan 
(Clark) (iarrison. But little can be learned (jf the 
antecedents of either of these families morc^ than 
the fad ttial, l.ioth of the parents of our suliject 
were natives of the .State of Tennessee and pio- 
neers in tlie settlement of IMontgomcry County, 
locating (.HI the farm where C. W. was Imni and 
where his father died in 1M73. 

Our subject's mother lived until August, I8;)l, 
when she died in Sorento at an advanced age. Of 
the eleven children there arc but four living: 
Charles Wesley, who is the subject of this sketch; 
.lames A., who lives in INbuitgoinerx' County on a 
farm not far from the old homestead, and is 
a iirominent stoc'k-raiser; Xaiii-y M., the wife of 
W. .]. Kirkhuid. residing (ui a large farm not far 
from .Sorento; and Mar\' .!., the wife of Samuel 
iMcRe'd<en. of Sorento. 

Our subject, was reared on liis father's farm and 
receivccl a lair c<lucatioii. His occuiiaticui h.as 
always lieeii llial of a farmer and stock-dealer. In 
l^iKl, he removed to his present [ilace of I'esidence, 
which is a little east of Sorento. and wlieri^ lie is 
(|iiit(! extensively engaged in raising and buying 
and shipping st(ick. 

Mr. (iarrison has been a prominent factor in 
bringing :ibout (owuship organization in Bond 
Count V. and at the liist election was |i'->nored with 



224 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the office of County Supervisor of his township, 
and re-elected by an increased majority on the 
Democratic ticliet. As Iho township is strongly 
Republican, the fact of his re-election speaks vol- 
umes for his popularity with both parties. He 
comes from an old Democratic fauiil}', and has 
faithfully adhered to the political creed of liis 
forefathers. 

Wliile living in Montgomery County, our subject 
served on tlie School Board from the time he was 
twenty-one years of age until he left there. He 
was a member of the Board of Supervisors and was 
for several years Constable. Fraternally, he is a 
prominent and active Mason, also a member of the 
Modern Woodmen of America. 

Mr. Garrison was married, August 14, 1873, to 
Melissa F. Brite, a daughter of K. E. Brite, a 
prominent farmer of JMissouri. Mis. Garrison was 
born in the State of Missouri. Their four children 
are Su.san Lucinda, a young lady who has had 
every advantage given her in an educational wa3'; 
Louana Alice, Nancy Melissa and Charles Wesley. 



^^ 



AFAYETTE M. GERHARD. Prominent 

((§} among tlie representative and prosperous 
Ji^X farmers and stock-raisers of Bois D'Arc 
Township, Montgomery County, whose biography 
it is a pleasure to give among tliose of honored 
citizens of this locality, is the worthy gentleman 
whose name heads this sketch. His life of useful- 
ness and industry, and liis record for integrity and 
true-hearted faithfulness in all the relations of 
life, have given him a hold upon tlie community 
whicli all might well desire to share. In every- 
thing connected with tlie growth and jn'osperity 
of the county, he has taken an active interest, and 
as a tiller of the soil he stands in the foremost 
ranks. All his jn'operty has been accuniiilaled by 
honest toil and good management, and he has 
now one of the best farms in this section. 

■J."l)e State of Peuns^'lvftijiij [jas furnished Mont- 



gomery County many excellent citizens, promi- 
nent among them being Mr. Gerhard, who was 
born in Bedford County, March 31, 1844, to the 
union of Samuel and Ann Gerhard, natives of 
Maryland. In 1844, when our subject was an in- 
fant, the parents came to the fertile prairies of 
Illinois, settling in Pike County, and there made 
their home for several years. Thence they 
removed to Cass Count}-, and in 1862 they 
came to Montgomeiy County and settled in Pit- 
man Township. Later, they removed to Bois 
D'Arc Township, purchased a good tract of land, 
improved it and there passed the closing scenes of 
tiieir lives, the mother dying February 9, 1876, and 
the f.ather May 23, 1888. They were highly es- 
teemed by all, and their lives were replete with 
acts of kindness. Of their children the following 
are now living: Mrs. Eye, Mrs. Canb}', Mrs. 
Witt, William K. and Lafaj'ette M., all prosperous 
and highly-esteemed citizens. 

Like the average country boy, our subject di- 
vided his time in youth between assisting his 
father in clearing and developing the farm and 
in attending the schools of Montgomery County, 
where he secured a fair education. lie was a 
farmer's boy, purely and simply, doing his part of 
the necessary work about his rural home. He re- 
mained under the parental roof until grown, as- 
sisting to bring his father's farm under cultiva- 
tion, and spending his winter in school during 
that time. April 27, 1876. he was married to Miss 
Maiy J. Newport, tiie daughter of .loliii Newport, 
of Farniersville, one of the prominent men of the 
count}'. 

The union of Mr. and Mrs. Gerhard was 
blessed with nine children, who are in the order 
of their births as follows: Otis, deceased; Nel- 
lie M.. .Tolin, Henry, Chalmers, Emma, Samuel, 
Frank, and an inf.ant daughter yet unnamed. Mr. 
Gerhard's land comprises four bundled acres, 
and is carefully tilled and cultivated. All Ins 
farming operations are conducted in a progressive 
and superior manner, and it needs V)ut a glance 
over his broad acres to understand that an ex- 
perienced hand is at tlie helm. His records as a 
private citizen and neighbor are .■ilikc iiiitiirnished 
anfl in all the affairs of life lie jiys borne himself 



l:^^'' 



^im ^*«*T, ^v»' "^ . -^ ^ ' -'^ 







RESIDENCE OF PETER STUTLE , SEC.11.,5. LITCHFIELD TP^MONTGOMERY CO.JLL. 




RESIDENCE OF L. M. GERH ARD , 5EC.22.^B01S D' ARC TR, MONTGOMERY CO., 1 LL 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



227 



ill ail ii[iiit;lil iiiaiiiu'r, mid is rec<igiiizc(l as a man 
of true worlli. He had vcr.y little of this world's 
goods to start with in life, and what he has accum- 
ulated is the result of hard work and good man- 
agement on his part. His political views have 
brought iiim into alllliation with the Democratic 
party, and he is an earnest upliolder of its princi- 
])les and [K.ilicy. 



-^ 




Si^ ETKR STIJTLE, who owns and operates a 
fi fine farm of tliree hundred acres on sec- 



tion 11, South Ijitclifield Township, Mont- 
gomery County, is a Bohemian Iiy birth. 
He was born on the 211th of June, l<S2o, in IiCthe- 
nna,and was reared in a little mining town of that 
land. As soon as old enough, he began work in 
the silver mines and was thus employed until 1850. 
His parents had previously died, and with two 
brotbers and three sisters he crossed the Atlantic 
to America. They landed in St. Louis, where Peter 
learned the cooper's trade, which he followed in 
that city for two years. He then removed to Col- 
linsville, Jladison County, where, in company with 
his brother-in-law, he opened a cooper's shop, en- 
gaging in business in that line for some tim.e. 

It was in 1809 tliat Mr. Stutle came to Mont- 
gomery County. Having acquired some capital 
through his industry and [terseverance, he here 
purchased forty acres of land, constituting a part 
of his present farm, and also established a small 
cooper sho]). After working all day in the fields, 
he would follow his trade at nights, many tunes 
until twelve or one o'clock. In this way he got a 
start, and from a small beginning he has steadily 
worked his way njiward. As his financial resources 
increased, he extended the boundaries of his farm, 
until he now owns three hundred acres of rich land 
and is one of the most extensive grain and stock- 
raisers in this locality. If Peter Stutle does not 
have good grain and good stock, none can be found 
in the county. 

While a resident of Collinsville, Mr. Stutle was 



united in marriage with Annie Turuey, and unto 
them have been born eight children: Joseph, the 
eldest, is a resident farmer of Noi-th Litchdeld 
Township; Frank, a young man of twenty-nine 
3ears, is at home; Tony, aged twenty-four, is com- 
pleting his education in the Hillslioro High School; 
Alliert is engaged in teaching; Eddie is at home; 
Mary is the wife of George Hancock, of California; 
Emma lives with her sister in California, and 
Annie makes her home with her aunt in St. Louis. 
In ^lolitics, Mr. Stutle is a supporter of the 
Democracy and warmly advocates its princijiles. 
The cause of education linds in him a valued 
friend, and he has held tlie ollice of School Direc- 
tor for many years. He and his wife are members 
of the Christian Church and are people of many 
excellencies of character. We see in Mr. Stutle a 
self-made man, who by enterprise, energy and well- 
directed efforts has steadily worked his way up- 
ward and gained a comfortable comi)etence, which 
numliers him among the substantial citizens of the 
count\'. 






ATHERINE M. FITZ.TARRELL. The ven- 



erable lady whose honored name opens this 
affectionately known in the county 



(l( _ ernoie laciy wnc 
^^' sketch is affecti 
of Montgomery as "Grandma." She has so en- 
deared herself to the people among whom she has 
])assed her long life, that none are more respected 
or more dearly loved than this pioneer woman. 

Catherine Fitzjarrell was horn in Jefferson 
County, Tenn., November 13, 1820, and was the 
daughter of Joseph and Julia (Brown) Skeen, na- 
tives of Tennessee. Some time in the '.'^Os, the 
family emigrated to Greene County, HI., whence, 
after residing there a short time, they removed to 
Macoupin County, and were among the very first 
settlers of that county. Her f.-itlier entered Gov- 
ernment land there and the family settled down 
upon the raw prairie. The face of Nature was 
very beautiful, with flowering prairies and belts 
of forest trees by flowing streams, but. there were 



228 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 



other things l<> think of beside the pleasures of the 
eye. From those unpromising fields must come 
the sustenance of tlie little family, and perhaps it 
was partly discouragement that caused tiie deatli of 
tlie father in one year from the time of the re- 
moval. The poor mothercould also endure liardship 
no longer, and in three weeks more the children 
were orphans. Tlie biographer would love to give 
to interested readers the details of the life of the 
subject of our sketch, but witliin the present limits 
lie must be brief. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Skeen who still 
survive are as follows: John, Catherine, Henr3r, 
Marion, and Ellen, who is the wife of John Chisin. 
None of tiiese children had any educational ad- 
vantages, as they grew to maturity in the pioneer 
times of the count3', but they all have become peo- 
ple of prominence and have conducted tlieir lives 
and affairs with fulij^ as much success as has at- 
tended many of a younger generation who liave 
liad more advantages. 

Catherine was married March 11, 1841, to Dan- 
iel K. Fitzjarrell, who was born in Ohio in Aiuil, 
1818, and was the son of EH and Tabitha Fitzjar- 
rell. When a boy he came to Illinois with his 
parents, and tlie first location of the family was 
in Greene County, but later Macoupin County 
became their home. To Mr. and Mrs. Fitzjarrell 
ten children were born, and five were reared: El- 
len, the wife of Columbus Reno; Celia, Mrs. Wiley 
nines; Joseph; Saraii. Mrs. Roach, whose liusband 
is deceased; and Emma, the wife of A. Miller. 
For man3- years after marriage our subject resided 
in Macoupin County, but just before the Civil 
War the family moved into Montgomery County, 
and for several years lived on the farm now owned 
by C.H. Barton, in Pitman Township. Tliencethey 
moved to the farm where Mrs. Fitzjarrell now lives, 
and where, in the spring of 1863, occurred the death 
of Mr. Fitzjarrell, who was one of tlie men of a 
community who can be ill spared. lie was respected 
by all, and the sterling traits in his cliaracter made 
him a man to whom all looked for guidance. He was 
active in the forwarding of all county interests, 
and was lamented as a kind father and husband 
and an obliging neighbor. 

Mrs. Fitzjarrell is well known among her pioneer 



neighbors and is beloved wherever known. Her 
ready sympathy is alwaj'S extended to those in 
trouble, and she understands how to lighten heav}- 
burdens. Ilcr tales of pioneer life are most enter- 
taining, and all wish that she may long live to re- 
late them. She owns one hundred and fifty-eigtit 
and one-fourth acres of land, this being a part of 
what she and her iuisband worked for and earned. 
Her home is now witli her daughter, Mrs. Miller, 
and four dear grandchildren here claim her care 
and affection: Francis Z., Catherine E., Ellen and 
Eli L. Another daugliter, Mrs. Roaeli, lives on 
the farm, and in her family are two grandeliildren, 
Laura E. and Artliur A., in whom "Grandma" 
Fitzjarrell renews her youth. 



,l/_^ E. APPLETON. The luune with which we 
K )|) commence this biography is that of one of 
the oldest residents of tlie town of Litch- 
field. He came here in 1854, at wliich 
time the place had just been platted, and can 
therefore give a great many points witli regard 
to the early liistory of the section of the countiy 
in which he lias so long made his home. 

Mr. Appletou is a native of Hampshire. En- 
gland, his birth having occurred February 13, 
1828. He received his education in England, and 
after completing the same took up the trade of 
wagon-maker as the vocation he chose to pursue 
through life. In the year 1851, the tide of emi- 
gration from the Mother Country swept near the 
home of our subject, and he became inspired witii 
the spirit of enterprise, which soon compelled liis 
departure for the United States, where the pos- 
sibilities of a prosperous future seemed to be more 
easily realized than in his native land. 

Mr. Appleton first settled at Alton, Madison 
County, 111., where he worked at his trade. 
Afterward he moved to Ridgley, where, with James 
W. Jeffries, R. W. O'Bannon and W. T. Elliott, he 
inaugurated a town, and there our subject con- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



229 



tinned as a wagon and carriage maker, and was 
very successful in Ins line. In tiie year 1866, lie 
took a position as superintendent in a coal com- 
pany, and increased the business to such an extent 
that in 1875 he assisted in incorporating a com- 
pany witii $10,000 capital stock, and assumed the 
direction of same as Vice-president. For some 
time after the incorporation of this compan}', the 
enteri)rise did not prove as successful as was anti- 
cipated, hut owing to the keen business manage- 
ment and excellent ability of Mr. Appleton,, it 
was recognized in a few years as one of the best- 
paying concerns of its kind in that part of the 
country. Mr. Applelon is the possessor of a farm, 
and is also one of the stockholders of the Electric 
Light and Water Supply Coin]iany. 

The residence of our subject is one of the beau- 
tiful spots in the city wilii which he has been so 
closely allied as founder, citizen and promoter of 
its enter[irises. One of the tirst pieces of real 
estate he (jwned in this locality is what is now 
known as Market House Square, which was a gift 
from Mr. Ap[ileton to the town. He is a man of 
generous and kindly iri)|iulse.s, and fortune has 
crowned his efforts with success, |)lacing him in a 
position of independence with regard to his fel- 
low-men. He is a firm believer in the doctrine of 
giving to the poor and lending to the Lord, liut 
his charities are of the kind that seek no publica- 
tion, and iKine but the donor and recijjient have 
knowledge of the many deeds of kindness that are 
somewhere recorded against his name. 

The immediate family of (_)ur suliject consists of 
a wife and two children. Mrs. Apideton was Mi.ss 
Alva E. liutt, a lady of Englisii liirth and parent- 
age, and one whose life and labors have won 
for her the hearty respect of those w1h» know her, 
and the more loving regard of all with whom she 
is more intimately associated. Our subject's chil- 
dren are E. 15. and Miss Jessie A[)[)letoii. 

When the story of the organization and early de- 
velopment of Litchfield is fitly tohl, the name of 
H. E. Applelon will be found ainoiig those who 
have always had the welfare of the place at heart, 
and generously aided the settlement, improvement 
and growth of Litchfield by their own exertions 
and means. It is to such men that <iur country 



owes her success, and the characteristics of him 
whose l)iography we have here sketclied are the 
same personal attributes possessed by tlie founders 
of our Rcpul)lic. 




i>^rr-<^^- 



R. II. S. SHORT is a member of lliat pro- 
fession whii'h is one of the nolilest to 
which a man can devote his life, and one 
which operates effectively in time of need 
.in arresting and alleviating the pains and ailments 
to which the human body is heir, and one also 
wiiicii deserves the most appreciative consideration 
on the part of the public. .\s a follower of this uol)le 
calling, the gratitude of hundreds is due to the 
skill and talent of Dr. Short, who has been an ac- 
tive practitioner in this section f(U- manv \ears 
and has acquired considerable prominence. He 
was born in Randoli)h County, N. ('., May I, 1840, 
a sou of Lemuel and Mary (Ilaskett) Short, who 
were born, reared and married in the old North 
State, the former being a successful school teacher. 
He f(.)llowed tliis occupatiiui forty-four years and 
attained prominence as an educator. 

John Short, grandfather of our subject, was born 
in the North of Ireland, but was brought to Am- 
erica by his parents when about four years of age, 
.and eventually became a school, music and writino- 
teacher in North Carolina, lie was well edui-ated, 
and became more than ordinarily successful in his 
chosen calling. He followed this occupation for 
fifty years and li\cd to be eighty-seven years of 
.age. Isaac ll.askett, the maternal grandfather of 
the subject of this sketch, was born in North Caro- 
lina, was a farmer by oi^cupation, and died in 
A'irginia, at the i)atriarchal age of ninety-eight 
years. His parents were born in France. 

Lemuel Short and Mary Ilaskett were married in 
Randolph County, N. C, April 5. 1838, and the 
mother is still living, being now (181)2) in her 
seventy-sixth year, .\fler the death of .Mr. Short, 
she liecame the wife of .1. II. Buckmaster on tlie 
1th of July, 1866, but this union did not result in 



230 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tlio birth of any cliildren. Eleven children were 
born 1(1 her first nuiriiage, seven sons and four 
daughters, namely: F. E., of Tennessee; Dr. II. 8., 
the suljject of tliis sketch; Adella J., deceased, who 
became the wife of IJennett Poland and the nio- 
tlier of twelve children; Jonathan S.; Mary P., the 
wife of George fStokes, of Fayette County, 111.; 
William A., who was killed in Montana; Nerius, 
who died at the age of two years; Oliver S., of 
Fillmore, 111.; A. J., who died in 1880; Hannah L., 
who is deceased, and Frances D., also deceased. 

Dr. H. S. Short was the second member of this 
family, and until he attained his fourteenth year 
he was a resident of the State in which he was 
born, a|id there commenced attending school at 
the age of four years. He also attended the dis- 
trict schools of Faj-ette C'ountj', 111., and the West- 
field (Ind.) High .School, but u|)on the bursting 
of the war cloud that had so long hovered over 
the country, he, on the ;3d of July, 1861, enlisted 
in the service of his country and became a mem- 
ber of Company C, Thirty-fifth Illinois Infantry, 
as a private, and took part in the following en- 
g.agements: Corinth, Perryville, Stone River, and 
Chattanooga, and was with (ien. Sherman on his 
famous march to the sea. He received his dis- 
charge at Springfield, 111., September 27, 1864, and 
■was mustered out there by 8. 8. Sumner. Three 
of his brothers also saw service in the armj^ After 
the close of the war, he returned to Illinois and 
began teaching school at Ramsey, and also read 
medicine with Dr. J. C. Jones. He then took a 
course of lectures in the Medical College of Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio, after which he practiced four years. 
He came to Fillmore July 27, 1869, .and May 19., 
1873, graduated at Cincinnati from the Eclectic 
Medical Institute. He has been a member of the 
Illinois State Eclectic Medical Society since its or- 
ganization, as well as of the Montgomery County- 
Medical Society. 

October 31, 1871, our subject married, at Ram- 
.sey, 111., Miss Sarah M. Stokes, a native of Fayette 
County', this State, who was born on the 2;3th of 
October, 1851, a daughter of P>yid and Margaret 
Stokes, and their union has resulted in the birth of 
four sons and two daughters: AVilliam T., Mary 
L., Emma E., Ulysses S., Walter C. and Lemuel B. 



Maiy L. is an experienced and successful school 
teacher, .as is also William T., who h.as followed 
that occupation with good results since he was 
nineteen years of .age. The Doctor has been a 
member of the Ancient Fiec & Accepted Masons 
since 1806, and is also a member of the Modern 
Woodmen of America, in which he is now FLx- 
amining Surgeon. He is a strong Republican and 
ran .as a popular candidate for County Coroner in 
the fall of 1892. His professional career from the 
first h.as been one of gratifying results, for he is 
thoroughly fitted b>' study and experience for a 
superior physician, and has built up a reputation 
for professional skill and ability that is not merely 
local but extends over a wide range of territorv. 



' ^ I < m il l ' 



,, ENRY (i. WIHTEIIOUSE, one of the wide- 
awake and enterprising young farmers of 
Montgomery County, residing on section 
29, South Litchfield Township, was born 
near Mt. Olive, in Macoupin County, 111., March 
2, 18.56. His parents were William H. and Justine 
(Nobbe) Whitehouse, the former of whom had 
come to America in 1843. He was then a young 
man in limited circumstances, but by good busi- 
ness ability, enterprise and perseverance, worked 
his way steadilj- upward to a position of wealth 
and affluence, and at his death, in 1878, left a large 
estate. He had made several trips to Europe, hop- 
ing to benefit his health, but at length was called 
to his final rest. He left nearly three thousand 
acres of land, besides other valuable interests. In 
the family were five brothers, namely: William, 
Gottleib, Henry, Fred and Charles, though three 
are now deceased. Charles is a wealthy farmer 
residing in this county. The brothers were all 
successful business men and .ac(piired considerable 
property, but the father gained the largest fortune 
of them all. The mother of our subject is still 
living. 

Henry G. w.as reared to manhood in the usual 
manner of farmer lads, and his education was ac- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



233 



quired in the German and public scliools. After 
attaining to years of maturity, lie was united in 
marriage, in 1877, with Miss Ann, daughter of 
Henry Neiniann, one of the substantial and repre- 
sentative farmers of this community. .Six children 
grace this union, one son and live daughters, 
namely: Louis, .Sophia. Angustina. Loua, Slary 
and Matilda. 

Since the death of his father, Mr. Whitchouse 
has not only looked after his own fine farm, but lias 
assisted his mother in the management of the es- 
tate, which has not yet been divided among the 
heirs. His land is well tilled and under a high 
state of cultivation, and the many improvements 
upon his place indicate the thrift and enterprise 
of the owner, who is numbered among the leading 
agriculturists of the township. He is a prominent 
citizen aud has been honored with several local 
oiKces, having served as Highway Commissioner, 
School Director, and for the [last ten years has been 
the efiicient Treasurer of South Litchfield Town- 
ship school funds. He is a leading and iuHuential 
citizen, and has the confidence and high regard of 
a large circle of friends and acquaintances in this 
community. In jiolitical matters he is a standi 
Republican. 



♦ss^; 



^Hs♦^•^ 



/^ APT. P. C. WOOD. This gentleman may 
(l( be counted among the old residents of 

^^^' Montgomery, for he \v;is Ikh-ii in Kast Fork 
Township, August 22, l!S3."). His father, Thomas 
Wood, was a native of South Carolina, who was 
bi.iin in l.Sdl. and there grew to mature ye;irs. Tu 
1823 he came to Bond County, HI., but only re- 
mained there until the following year, when he made 
a settlement in Montgomery County. He located 
on section K, where he took up land from the 
Government and built a log cabin. LSxLS feet, 
cutting the trees for the house from his farm. He 
improved his pl.ace, cleared it of the brush and 



timber with which it was covered, and there re- 
ceived his final summons in 1858. He was a sol- 
dier in the Black ILawk War. 

Our subject's paternal grandfather, Thom.as 
Wofid, Sr., was of English <lescent, and was also a 
native of the Palmetto State, where he grew to 
manliond and was inariied. lie died in Mont- 
gomery County. III. 'J'he mother of our subject 
Iiore the maidi'ii name of Anna Ellis, and was a 
native of Kentucky, where she was born in 1805. 
She came with her parents to Bond County, III., 
in 18 It), when luit eleven years of age. Her father, 
.lohii Ellis, was a native of North Carolinn, but re- 
moved to Kentucky about 1790, and was with 
Daniel lioone at one time. After coniing to Hli- 
nois. in 18 1(5, he located in Bond County, three 
miles iiurth of (Greenville, where he built the first 
log house. He was one of the earliest settlers in 
the county, and died on the [ilace where he had at 
first hicated. He was a soldier in the War of 
1812, and was a descendant of the French Hugue- 
nots. 

Our subject is the second son among eight chil- 
dren, three sons and five daughters, the three sons 
being the only survivors. The mother died in 
1881. I\Ir. Wood's early schooling was received 
in the log schoolliouse of early times, and he as- 
sisted his father in improving the farm until his 
marriage. He selected for his wife Miss Elizabeth 
Barry, a native of Montgomery County, III., their 
union being celebrated in 1867. She was the 
daughter of John Barry, but did not long survive 
after her marriage. She died in 1858, leaving a 
child that died a few years later. 

In 1861, Mr. Wood enlisted in Company A, 
Twelfth Illinois Infantry as a private, for three 
months. At the end of that time he re-enlisted 
in the Twenty-sixth jMis.souri Infantry asa]n-ivate 
and was promoted first to be Corporal, then Lieu- 
tenant, and finally Captain. He was in the service 
three and one-half years, and was with (Jrant and 
Logan most of the time. He was slightly wounded 
twice. As an officer and a soldier, he acquitted 
him-self with bravery, and w.as ever to be found at 
the front. He was in the battles of Corinth, luka, 
Vicksburg, and many others of minor impoi-tanee. 
He was honorably discharged in I8G1 and mus- 



234 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tered out :U \irk^liiiri(, after which he returned to 
Montgomery County. 

Since then Capt. Wood lias been actively en- 
gaged in tilling the soil, and lias met with sub- 
stantial results in iiis life's work. Thorough-going 
and progressive, lie has prospered in all his enter- 
prises, and is now classed among the most substan- 
tial and successful citizens. In politics, he is a 
Repulilican, and one of the first in the county. He 
is at present School Trustee, has been School Di- 
rector, served as Deputy Sheriff four 3-ears, and 
has held other responsible positions. Socially, he 
is a member of Hubble Post No. 403, G. A. R., of 
Plillsboro, and was also a member of the Masonic 
fraternitv for some time. 



H***-!-^ 



i,*5*'5*'5"J'^ 



j.5..5..{..j.i^;(^'.5..5..5..j.p 



^i ACOB PAUL. It is gratifying to trace the 
history of those of the early pioneers of 
Montgomery Country who have persevered 
through trials and hardships and have at 
last reached the point where they can enjoy the 
wealth and prosperity which rightly belong to 
them. In the life of the gentleman whose name 
we now give, we find such a historj% and the pop- 
ularity which belongs to such a man is the just 
meed which his neighbors are glad to pay to his 
worth and work. This honored representative of 
one of the best old Eastern families is now residing 
in Bois D'Arc Township, and is one of the most 
esteemed and respected citizens of the same. He 
was born in West Virginia on the 19th of Septem- 
ber, 1815, a son of John and Keziah (Mills) Paul, 
the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter, 
it is supposed, of Virginia. 

Philip Paul, an uncle of our subject, was a sol- 
dier in the Wai- of 1«12. John Paul and his wife 
emigrated to iSIorgan County, Ind.,and came down 
the Ohio River on a fiat-boat to Cincinnati. Then 
with horse and wagon they went to Southern Ind- 
iana and there located, being among the early 
settlers, and there the father died about a yeav 
later. The youthful days of our subject were 



passed amid the scenes of pioneer life and his mus- 
cles were early hardened to the duties of the farm. 
Indians at that time were plentiful and wild game 
abounded in the wood. On account of the scarcity 
of schools, young Paul received very limited edu- 
catif)nal advantages and is mainly self-educated. 
He has ever b en a great reader and books are his 
delight, he being enabled through that medium to 
become thoroughly posted on all important sub- 
jects. 

The original of this sketch selected his wife in 
the person of Miss Ellen ^IcLean,a native of Ken- 
tucky, and six children blessed this union, viz.: 
Frank, John, Douglas, Levi; Alice, wife of Nelson 
Darr; and Keziah, wife of Albert Taylor. A short 
time before the Tippecanoe Presidential campaign, 
Mr. Paul and wife removed to St. Clair County, 
111., and resided there a few months, after which 
he went to Missouri. Shortly afterward, he came 
to Alton, 111., and remained there until earlj' in the 
';jOs, when he located in Macoupin County; after re- 
siding there a few years he came to Montgomery 
County, settling on his present farm in Bois D'Arc 
Township. He broke the first sod on this place and 
has spent a good number of his da3'S in developing 
and improving this fine tract of land. He is now the 
owner of two hundred acres of land, all the result 
of honest toil and industry on the part of himself 
and his worthy wife, who was a true helpmate to 
him in the trials and privation of pioneer days. 
In those times, he used a wooden plow, drawn by 
oxen, in breaking the prairie. He has done much 
pioneer work, and in every public enterprise that 
had for its object the upbuilding of tiie county, 
he has taken a prominent part. October 4, 1892, 
he suffered a severe blow in the loss of his wife, 
who was called to the better land. 

In his political views, Mr. Paul is a stanch Dem- 
ocrat and has ever been interested in the triumphs 
of his party. In every walk of life, he has acquitted 
himself in an honorable and upright manner, and 
his word is as good as his bond. His history is an 
example of what frugality, industry and integrity 
will accomplish and he enjoys a success as great as 
it is pronounced. He had two sons, Frank and 
John, who were soldiers in the Civil AVar. As be- 
fore stated, Mr. Paul is a Democrat and has voted 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



235 



the straight ticket with one exception and that was 
when lie voted for Aliraliam Lincoln when he was 
nominated tlie second time. Mr. Paul has worked 
at many diflerent occupations during' liis life and 
f(ir a time was a stcainlioat hand on tlie ISIissis- 
sipi)i River. Tliis was wliile lie was a resident of 
Alton, III. He is one of the oldest citizens of the 
county and is well known throughoul its length 
and breadth, and lias a host of warm friends. He is 
very pojiular with all, and we take great pleasure 
in representing hiin in these pages. 



1-^+^1 



*'W '*^- •^- ^^- C'*'MI>>'^i o"*-' of the very pronii- 
' ncnt and widely-known residents of Mul- 
berry Grove, III., is a familiar [lersonage in 

§)) the social and commercial as well as the |)o- 
litieal circles of IMulhorry (Srove Township, ISond 
County, III. He is engaged in the real-estate and 
insurance business, and holds the important otlicc 
of Police Magistrate, and is also a Notaiy Public, 
having held the latter otHce for nineteen years. 

Our subject was born in Coles County. 111., No- 
vcmlier 2, 1833, near the village of Ashniore. The 
father of Mr. Combs was John Coir.bs, a man who 
was well known tlircmghout the Slate. He was 
born DeceinbiT 20, I.SIO, in East Tennessee, and 
remained in the same locality until he was seven- 
teen years old. wlieii he moved with his parents 
into Indiana, where they remained for four years. 
Here the young man began the study of medicine, 
and when the family removed to Clark County, 
HI., he continued his studies and liecamea practic- 
ing iihysician, and followed his profession until his 
death, which occurred in Mullierrv (irove, July 
13, 18.-)1, of cholera. 

The grandfather of our subject wasalso a native 
of East Tennessee, and there conducted a farm 
until his enlistment in the War of 1812. The 
mother of our subject was formerly Elizabeth M. 
]\Iitcliell, who was born in Russell County, Ky., 
January 3. 1812, and when (piite young removed 
witli her jiarents to the State of Indiana. She 



came to Coles County, 111., in 1828, while her 
death took |)lace in Kansas, in 18116. Her father, 
.loliii Mitchell, a native of North Carolina, resided 
near Guilford, where occurred the battle of (lull- 
ford Court House. This battle was fought on her 
grandfather's plantation, and there yet may be 
found in some of the deep fui-rows which the plow 
of the hnsbandman turns up an occasional bullet 
which long ago did its deadly work. The family 
came of that niixtuie of Scotch-Irish blood which 
has given the world some of its most eloquent 
men and lovely women. 

The parents of our suliject reared a family of 
nine children, only six of wlunn grew to full ma- 
turity, and but live are now living. Of these the 
gentleman of whom we write is the eldest. His 
youngest brother, William, became jiromiiient in 
the State of Kansas, and held the position of Judge 
of Lyon County from 1888 to 1890. The others 
of the family have become well and favorablv 
known in the localities where lliey have lived. 

]\Ir. Combs of this notice came into Ilond County, 
III., March 1, 181.''), and tt) the town of :\lulberry 
Grove March. 2, IHIC. His first school days were 
passed in Marshall, Clark County, 111., whence 
lie went to the celebrated McKendree College at 
Lebanon, III., to finish his education. He wasonlv 
nineteen years of age when he began the manage- 
ment of his own affairs, and so determined was lie 
to obtain an education, that he perseveriiigly 
worked his own wav throngh a year's course at 
college. After such a preparation he found teacli- 
ing a congenial employment, and for six years he 
followed it. August 21, 1851), he married Martha 
E. 15nchanan, who graced his home but a few short 
years, when death claimed her for its own. She 
left three children at the time of her decease: Jen- 
nie, now Mrs. Holt, (.)f Pocahontas; Lillic, who 
finds a home with her sister; and Ernest E., who is 
a graduate of the college at \'al(iaraiso, Ind., and 
was elected I'resident of the Alumni, and is now 
I'lincipal of a school at Sorento, 111. 

The seet)nd mnrri.age of our subject took place 
here, and the lady who liecaine Mrs. Combs was 
Louisa A. Hurke, nee Russell, a resident of this 
town. No children have resulted from this union. 
Mr. Combs is an ardent Republican and has done 



23G 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



much for hi.s party, of whicli he has been a meni- 
bei- since its organization, and in 1869 he was 
elected to the otHce of Justice of tlic Peace and 
served until 1877; he was re-elected in Maj-, 
1891, and has also served one term as Scliool Di- 
rector. He has licen a Notary Public for the past 
nineteen years, and is the .second oldest Notary in 
the county. His election to the Legislature to 
represent the district composed of Bond, Clinton 
and AVashington Counties, took place in 1888, and 
he took an active i)art in the special session of 
189(1, when the World's Fair question was under 
di.scussion. 

Mr. Combs served three years in the late war, 
having enlisted in Company E, Twenty-second Il- 
linois Infantiy, and was in all of the principal 
battles of the war. He came out of the struggle 
without wounds, but with cx])eriences which have 
left a lasting influence. His life has been one of 
business and he has been successful in many ways. 
Few men attain all of the heights which j'outh 
promises, but Mr. Combs has .accomiilished much 
more than many of those who started under more 
favoring circumstances. 



^\ 



'\m 



\^^ 




ON. DAVID H. ZFPP. Among the many 
prominent names that make up the strength 
of the Illinois Bar is that of Hon. David H. 
)j Zepp, who possesses solid, substantial tal- 
ent and is an example of what maj' be accom- 
plished by push and energy. He is one of those 
men. too few in number, who fully recognize the 
truth so often urged by the sages of the law, that, 
of all men, the reading and thought of the lawyer 
should be the most extended. Systematic reading 
gives a more comprehensive grasp to the mind, va- 
riety and richness to thought, and a clearer percep- 
tion of the motives of men and the |)rinciples of 
things. This he ii.as found most essential in the 
prosecution of his professional practice. He is 
one of the prominent attorneys and capit.'dists of 
Nokorais, and is a true tyjie of (he self-made man. 



Born in Carroll County, Md., August 5, 1845, 
Mr. Zepp is a son of Samuel and Caroline (Zim- 
merman) Zepp. Our subject's great-grandfather, 
Leonard Zepp, was a native of Switzerland and 
came to America just at the close of the Kev- 
ohitionary War. Settling in Frederick County, 
Jld., he reared his family, and in that State the 
grandfather of our subject, Leonard Zepp, Jr., 
was born. The father of our subject, Samuel 
Zepi), was liorn in Frederick County, Md., in 18'22. 
The Zimmermans were of German extraction, and 
the first one of the family to settle in America was 
our subject's great-grandfather, who located in 
Adams County, Pa., about the year 1750. In this 
county, Mrs. Zepp's father. Christian Zimmer- 
man, was born about 1780, and in 1800 he moved 
to Maryland. He settled in that part of Frederick 
County now included in Carroll County, and there 
Mrs. Zepp was born in 1824. 

Samuel Zepp and Miss Caroline Zimmerman 
were married in 1843, and on their plantation the 
original of this notice grew to manhood. He gen- 
erally attended school three or four months during 
the 3'ear, and the b.alance of the time was devoted 
to the arduous duties of the farm. This continued 
until he had reached his eighteenth year, when he 
started out as a school teacher in his native county. 
After teaching one term he was engaged as Prin- 
cipal of the public schools at Taneytown, Carroll 
County, Md., and the following year was made 
Superintendent of the public schools at West- 
minster, on a salary of |i50 per month, that being 
the highest salarj' paid in the county up to that 
time. He continued in that position for two 
years, and during this time he commenced to read 
law in the office of Judge John E. Smith, with 
whom he remained two years, and in Novem- 
ber, 1868, upon motion of Judge Smith, he was 
admitted to the Bar. In the winter of 1868 and 
1869 he was Superintendent of the schools at 
Union Bridge, Md., but in May, 1869, he deter- 
mined to seek fame and foi'tunc in the great 
West. Accordingly, he left his native heath and 
journeyed toward the Prairie State, first stopiiing 
at Mattoon, Coles County. Wiicn starting out for 
liimself, INIr. Zepp's cash capital w.as by no means 
large, and when he arrived at Mattoon he was al- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



237 



most penniless, in fact, in balancing np his cash 
account he found he had just thirteen cents. He 
was in a strange land, among strangers, and some- 
Ihing had to be done. 

After icmaining at Mattoon for one month, he 
went to liunker Hill, where the harvest was just 
commencing, and he being a strong and able- 
Ijodied man, hired out at ^.'5 per day, and in 
tliis manner accumulated considerable means. He 
began teaching school in Palmyra, Macoupin 
County, and the following harvest found him 
again in the field, for in his ambition to get a 
start in Ihe world lie was determined, for the time, 
to do any work that would bring him money, pro- 
viding it was iiouorable employment. While work- 
ing in llu' lield he learned that the Board of Educa- 
tion at llillsboro wanted to secure a new Superin- 
tendent, and he at once went to that place to make 
ai)|)lication. A week later he received word by mail 
that he liad been appointed to the position at a 
salary of §80 per month for len 7n(.inths. At 
the expiration of this time, oi' m .Tune, 1871, 
he formed a partnership in the lavv Inisiness witli 
T. A. Walls, a prominent attorney of Nokomis, 
but the following October his partner died and he 
succeeded to the thriving Ijusiness of the oHice. 
Ills reiHitation as an educator caused the Board of 
Education at Nokomis to secure liim as .Su|)erin- 
tendent of tlie i)ul)lic schools at tiiis place, which 
position he occupied for one year. He was then 
out of school for two years, when they again made 
a proposition that if he would acce[)t $125 per 
montli, they would allow him to have time to at- 
tend to his lavv practice and be present during the 
sessions of court. This he saw fit to accept, and 
the ar^-angement lasted one year. Then on ac- 
count of his constantly increasing business, he was 
oliiigiKl to give up tiie ))lace. 

Soon after this, or on the 8th of Scptemlier, 1874, 
lie was married to Miss Ella Beaver, of Westmin- 
ster, Aid., who was reared, like her iuisband, in 
a slave State. Early in life oui- siibjeet learned 
to detest the institution of liuman slavery, and as 
he grew older he became a pronounced Abolition- 
ist, It would be only natural therefore to expect to 
liiid him afler llie .■iliolil ion of sjavcrv' a pro- 
iioiiiiced and ardent Hepublicaii, as he is. In 1616, 



his party, recognizing his true worth and great 
ability, elected him to the State Legislature, a po- 
sition he filled in a most satisf.actory and capable 
manner. Me was a member of the house w hen the 
great light was made against Eogaii for the United 
States Senate, and, being a great admirer of the 
soldier and statesman, he supjiorted him from 
first, to last. Even when defeat stared him in the 
face he never wavered. Wliiie a member of the 
Legislature his aliility was recognized liy hisbeiiiir 
placed on many of the iini)ortant committees, and 
he was Chairman of the Committee on Executive 
Deiiartments which brouglit him in contact willi 
(!<iv. Ciillom. Oui' subject was also a member 
of the Committee on .ludicial Departments, .as 
well as on the Commitfi'e on Corporations. He has 
been in all the Republican county conventions 
since he came to Montgomery County, as well as 
many of the State conventions, and has also been 
a member of the Re|iublican Central Committee. 

In 1892, Mr. Zepp was elected a delegate to the 
National Convention at iMiiine!ii)olis, and was an 
ardent supporter of (ien. Harrison for re-nomina- 
tion. As a financier he has few ecjuaLs and no sii- 
[loriors in his locality, (^uick to see an opiiorlu- 
nity, he instantly grasps it, and one incident is 
given to show this: .lust prior to the resumption 
of sitecie payment, and when great depression in 
value spread over the land, Mr. Zepp could see 
that the depression -was at its lowest point, and 
that improvement was sure to come in the near fu- 
ture. The vacant lots in Nokomis, and about two 
huiidivd acres ()f land adjoining, were for sale at 
panic prices. He .saw his oppurtunity, and, inter- 
esting .some capitalists in the. scheme, they made the 
|)urchase, as well as a tract of four hundred acres 
of valuable land in Shelby ('(lunty. The chaiiiic 
came as he liad predicted, and this master stroke 
brought liim Ins fortune. In 1881 he stocked the 
large farm in .Shelby County with l)looded stock 
and spent two jears on the f.-irin looking after this 
interest. Tins w.as his only absence from his ollice 
since IcKtating in Nokomis. About I.SMd, he or- 
ganized the Nokomis Building .'nKl Loan Associa- 
tion with a capital of -^1 1(0, 000, and has been its 
I'lesident from the start. lii^ is a prominent ami 
enthusiastic Mason, joining the order in Marj'laiid, 



238 



PORTRAl'I AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



having sent in his petition to the first meet- 
ing helfl after he was twenty-one years of age. 
He is a member of the Blue Lodge of Nolxomis, 
of which lie has been Master, Ilillsboro Chapter 
and Council, and also of St. OmerCommandei-y at 
Litchfield. Jlr. Zepp is a true type of tlie South- 
ern-bred gentleman, and it is a great pleasure 
to make his acquaintance. 




'NTHONY CALIIIAN, a well-known and 
honored resident of Montgomery County, 
// lii was born in the city of New York in 1841, 
of Irish parents, both of whom died when 
lie was small. They came to this country from 
the land of their birth, the Isle of Erin, but were 
not here long enough to gain a foothold on tlie 
ladder of success, and when death called them 
hence they left their son without means and at 
the mercy of a cold world, lie was separated from 
a brother at this time and has never seen or lieard 
of him since. Anthony was very 3'oung at that 
lime, and hardly knows what became of himself for 
some time thereafter, but su]jposes that he was con- 
signed to the care of a poor-house or some charitalile 
institution in that great city. He soon found him- 
self bound out to one Thomas Wolston, a New 
Jersey farmer, and there he grew to mature 3ears 
without the thoughtful and loving care of a 
mother or the wise counsels of a father. He re- 
ceired little or no education, and wliile his foster- 
parents were kind to him, it was ncit the kindness 
born of love. They well knew the warm blood in 
tlie veins of the Irish lad, and policy had much 
to do with tlie kindness tiiat was accorded him. 

When the great Civil War came, the blood in the 
Irish boy began to tell and he asked the consent of 
Ml Wolston to enlist in the Union service, but 
permission was refused, a? the time for whicii lie 
had l)een bound out had not yet expired. This 
only added fuel to the llames of his detcriiiination 
to enlist, and when l^-esideijt Lincoln made his 



second call for troops young Anthony took French 
leave of his foster-parents and on the l'2th of 
August, 1861, his name could be found on the 
rolls of Company B. Thirty-fifth Illinois Infantry. 
He enlisted from Montgomery County, to which 
place they had moved in 1858 or 1859. His com- 
mand followed Price through Missouri, and he 
was a participant in the battle of Pea Ridge, which 
was his first general engagement. For some time 
afterward he was in Missouri and Arkansas, and 
made a forced march from Batesville to Cape 
Girardeau, a distance of two hundred and forty 
miles, in nine days en route to Pittsburgh Land- 
ing. He was in the siege of Corinth, Miss., and 
during his life as a soldier performed many acts 
of bravery, and was in all the hard marches and 
battles, including the bloody battles of Stone 
River and Tullahoma, in which his regiment par- 
ticipated. We next find him on the bloody battle- 
field of Chickamauga, where in the first da3''s 
fight, September 19, 1862, he was felled by a rebel 
bullet and as he lay bleeding and stunned he was 
taken prisoner. 

Behind the walls of Libby Prison, Mr Caliban 
was confined for seventeen months, during whicli 
time he suffered the tortures, privations and slow 
starvation for whicli Southern prisoners were noted. 
He was at Danville and also in that foul pen, 
Andersonville, but the greater jieriod of his incar- 
ceration was spent in Libby. A volume could be 
filled with his reminiscences of prison life, and the 
sufferings that were crowded into those months of 
captivity were more than sufficient for a lifetime. 

When he was finally released in the spring of 
1865, he was little more than a living skeleton, 
covered with a few rags that took the place of 
clothing, and with all his teeth gone from the 
effects of scurvy. Ujion receiving his discharge 
on the 22nd of .Vpril, 1865, he returned to Jlont- 
goineiy County, and as soon as he was alile he en- 
gaged in farming, to whicli occupati(m his atten- 
tion has since been devoted. In 1868. he was 
united in niairiage with Miss Lucy Kellogg, a 
native of this country, and a daughter of Alfred 
Kellogg, a prominent old settler. Soon after his 
marriage he located on the farm on which he is 
now residing in Audubon Towjiship. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL KPXORD. 



239 



j\Ir t'alihan has lieen tlie soul of honor in his 
business transautions, has carried liiniself in an 
u|iright manner throughout life, and as a result lie 
lias numerous friends and very few, if any, 
enemies. To himself and wife five children iiave 
been born, two of whom died when small. Tlie 
otliers are Laura, wife of Cliarles Nevlin, a busi- 
ness man of Alton, III.; >[ary, who resides in No- 
komis; and Roy, a bright boy of seven 3'ears. In 
politics Mr Calihan is a hearty and most earnest 
su|iporter of Republican princi|)les. lie is a mem- 
ber C)f the (irand Army of the Republic, belonging 
to the Post iit Xokomis, in which he has served as 
S. v., J. \'., and in other minor offices. 



-^ 




EXRY SAATIIOFF. The i)ublic is always 
curious concerning men who have made a 
success in life, no matter whether that suc- 
vvs* cess may be (.)ne of rank, wealth or state, or 
a result of noble endeavor. Oftentimes tiiis is 
an idle and impertinent curiosity, but on the other 
hand the histor}' of one who fills his niche accept- 
abl}', doing to the best of his ability that which 
fate has set before him, cannot but be a helpful 
lesson to the reader. Of such is our subject, who, 
though living the ipiiet life of a farmer, brings 
such thoroughness and persistent effort tt) bear 
in his daily vocation, that a dignity is lent to it of 
which it is sometimes unhappily bereft. 

Henry Saathoff is one of the German-American 
citizens of this locality, who was born in the king- 
dom of Hanover, December .'il, 18-lG. He is a son 
of Ileiel and Annie (Mueller) Saatlujff, and is the 
fourth in order of birth of theii' family of eight 
children. Of tliesc, hini.self and brother IlcicI arc 
all tliat are spared. 

When our sulijecl was onls' eleven years of age, 
or in 18.")7, the Santhoft' family came to Auierica, 
and at once proceeding Westward, settled in Mad- 
ison County, this State. After a residence of two 
years there, they removed tn Montgomery Country. 
As the family means were very limited, and (.'ucli 



child had to contribute as much as possible to the 
common support, young Henry found but little 
time to prosecute his studies. That which he has 
was mostly ac(jnired before his eleventh year, in 
his native coinitry. In IKTG, he lost his mother, 
and eleven years later death came and laid its rest- 
ful hand upon the heart that had lieaten for him 
in paternal solicitude. 

In 1867, Mr. SaathoH' was united in marriage 
with Miss Frances Reiser. She died March 10, 
181)0. Of the nine children that came to gladden 
their home, five are now living. Of these, Annie 
is the wife of J. F. Whitworth, a merchant of 
prominence in Sorento. Mary died at the age of 
fifteen years; Ileiel, .lohn, Ira and Lena are all 
prosecuting their studies here, and iirei)aring to 
take their places as loyal American citizens. 

A|)ril 19, 18'J1, our subject married his present 
wife, who was a Miss Sophia Ilaafker, a native of 
Hanover, Germany, an<l a daughter of Heine and 
Mate Ilaafker, now of Mt. Olive, this State. Their 
one child, Lizzie, is a lovable girl baby. In 1886, 
Mr. .Saathoff purchased the Central Hotel of Sor- 
ento, and for a year was its active proprietor. He 
again purchased the line farm where he now lives, 
still, however, retaining his ownership of the hotelj 
besides having other valuable pro|ierty in the 
town. Although he has for many years been a 
Democrat, he leaves to others the red tape of po- 
litical work, merely assisting his party l)y castiug 
his straight Democratic vote at each election. 






|l ^ V. WKBKK. It is with 
\/jJf true-hearted patrifit re 
\yyf/ histor3' of one who savec 



F. WEBER. It is with (ileasnre that any 
ecounts the life 
d our nation with 
devotion, and it is with rt'\eience that we look 
u|)on the infirmities that have come upon these 
crippled veterans in our country's scr\'ice. Tlie 
old st)ldier of whom we write, and who is now- 
one of the most substantial and prosperous fariu- 
ers of .Audubon Township, is a native- of Cliaii- 
tauijua County, X, V., bortj March 20, 1837, ho 



240 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



being the eighth in order of birtli of nine chil- 
dren born to Josepli and Eunice (Johnson) AVeber, 
both natives of the Empire State. The graiid- 
fatlier, Nicliolas Wel)cr, was also a native of that 
State, and was born about thirteen years prior to 
the Revolutionary AVar. The family is of Ger- 
man extraction, and the great-grandfather of our 
subject, no doubt, came from the Eatherland many 
years before the signing of the Declaration of In- 
dependence. The mother of our subject was of 
English extraction, but no date is before us of the 
early history of this family, or the exact time her 
forefathers came to' this country'. 

In 1810, when the subject of this sketch was 
but a child of three years, the parents left the 
Empire State for the great AVest, and traveled by 
team to the Ohio River. Erom there they went 
by flat-boats to Pittsburg, and by steamer to St. 
Louis, ]Mo., where they again took to team and 
made their way to the then wild prairies of Mont- 
gomery Count \-, 111. They settled on a piece of 
unbroken land not far from the now thriving 
county seat of Montgomery County, or Ilillsboro, 
and here it may be said of Mr. AV^eber: 

'• lie choii[)ed, he logged, he cleared his lot. 
And into many a dismal spot 
He let the light of d.ay." 

The mother died a few years later, or when our 
subject was about seven years old, and on this farm, 
wiiich he had labored hard to clear and develop, 
the father passed away in 18.53. Of this pio- 
neer family there are now but live living — the 
original of this notice, two brothers and two sis- 
ters. Jacob, the eldest, resides not far from the 
place where the family first settled, north of Ilills- 
boro. He served his country faithfully in tlie 
Civil AVar. and was in the One Hundred and 
Twenty -sixth Illinois Infantry, and was discharged 
after the fall of A'icksburg on a surgeon's certifi- 
cate of disability. AVilliam W. is a farmer living 
in this count}'; Harriet is the wife of Philip 
Hacker, of St. Louis, Mo.; and Julia married 
.lames 1'. Hancock, who was a member of the One 
Hundred and Twenty-sixth Illinois Infantry, and 
died at Jackson, 'Penn., of typhoid fever, wllilo 
in service, 



Like the children of other pioneer families, our 
subject was early inured to the arduous duties of 
the farm, and was fairly educated for those days. 
For a number of years (irior to the Civil AVar, he 
was engaged in the sawmill business, and thus we 
find him actively employed when President Lin- 
coln made his first call for troops, in April, 1861. 
He promptly tendered his services and was en- 
rolled in Compau}' II, Ninth Illinois Infantry, and 
spent the greater part of his enlistment at Cairo. 
At the expiration of his term of enlistment, three 
months, he was discharged, and returned home, 
but early in the summer of 1862, he re-en- 
listed in Company F, One Hundred and Twenty- 
sixth Illinois Infantry, as a private. His command 
was at once sent to the front at Bolivar, Tenn., 
and this regiment, while one of the best in the ser- 
vice, had many duties to perform, holding tiie 
rebels in check, guarding forts and railroads, and 
transi)ortations for (Irant's army. It was in the 
great siege and fall of A'icksburg, and many small 
engagements and skirmishes. 

The greater part of the time was spent in Ten- 
nessee and Arkansas, and while near Duval's 
Bluff, in the latter State, on AVhite River, our sub- 
ject was personally in charge of a sawmill for the 
Government for about a year. The last year of 
the war his regiment was engaged in skirmishing, 
.scouting, and in long inarches in the State of Ar- 
kansas, and was mustered out in Pine Bluff, that 
State, July 12, 1865, and discharged at Springfield, 
111., on the 2d of the following August. He 
served his country with bravery and valor tor 
more than three years, endured many hardships 
and suffered much. During his service he wai 
ruptured, contracted rheumatism, and nearly lost 
his eye-sight, one eye becou.ing entirely blind. 

After returning from the army he again en- 
gaged in the sawmill business, which continued 
until the fall of 18()C, when he purchased the 
farm in Audubon Township, on which he has since 
resided. For six years he was a member of the 
Board of Supervisors of Montgomer}' County, for 
two years was Justice of the Peace, Clerk two 
terms, for three years was Commissioner, and for 
twenty-five years was Treasurer of his school dis- 
trict. He is a Grand Arni;y man, and life-long 




^^;^ Gt-^^ 




4^^c4^^J^' Mfiy/. 



1 ^ 




PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



245 



Denidcrat. Mr. and Jlrs. Weber liad liorn to them 
nine ehildren, ^;even of whom are living'. One 
died wlien a ehild, and Ida died wlien twenty 
years of age. Lanra Iv is the wife of 11. Teter, of 
Fairmont, Neb.; Ciiarles and Perry, at iiome; An- 
nie is a te.aeher in tlie publie schools; Lnln, Ilattie 
and Mand are at home. Mr. Weber has a fine 
farm of two Inmdred an<l forty aeres, h.as good, 
substantial buildings, and is one of the representa- 
tive men of this section. 



v(>A/f ^^^^^ ^^^ when tin 
W^ spent in active an 



ILLIAai SCilARF. Our subject has re.aehed 
le dignity of years well 
id productive labor ex- 
em|its him from the weariness of toil at the [ires- 
eiit time. He is now recognized .as one of the 
lu'ominent and wealthy retired farmers, living at a 
l)leasant distance from the busy t wn of Sorento, 
in Shoal Creek Township, lionil Count\'. The 
town of Sorento when laid out included a |)art of 
what was then his farm. 

]Mr. Scliarf was liorn in the province of Schlesien, 
in the kingdom of Prussia, August 11, 1S2,'). 
Karly in life he learned the bhicksmitli 's tradi^, 
which he followed in his native land until he went 
to America in IHTi'i. After that time, he was eni- 
[iloyed at his trade in St. J>ouis for four years, 
and in IH.'il) he purchased oin' liundred acres of 
land in Pleasant Prairie, lioiid County, wliere he 
has ever since lived. 

While residing in .Missouri, l'"eliruary 18, 1851, 
our suliject was married to Augusta Lohmann, who 
is a native of Hanover, (Germany. She hail one 
child, who, (in her mother's marriage to Mr. Scharf, 
Uiok that name. lie grew to manhood, the pride of 
his foster father. It was this ehild, .\ugnst Scharf, 
who laid <uit the thriving town of Sorento. It 
was also he who organized the Sorentf) Co.al Com- 
pany, and to his push and eneigy the i)eo])le of 
the town are greatls' indebted for the iii;in\ enter- 
jtrises that make of it a noted commercial centei-. 

11 



He had the advantages of an excellent education, 
and was a naturally brilliant and capable busi- 
ness man. His (rominnnity received his constant 
iittention, and e\-erytbing that was possible for 
him to do that was for the interest of the town, 
he willingly sacrilieed himself for, if necessary, and 
when lie was cut down in the prime of life, and in 
the days of his greatest prosperity, by the fell de- 
stroyer. Death, th.e mourning was universal. So- 
i rento felt that not only a good and noble man 
was taken from her midst, but that one of the 
mainstays of the place was removed when he was 
most needed. He died Novemlier 12, 18',ll, at the 
age of forty-two years. The large fortune which 
he left goes for the most part to the two other chil- 
dren that his parents reariMl: Thomas Scharf and 
Augusta Lohmann, the latter the wife of Charles 
Reum. A small portion of it goes to Uhoda M. 
(Cole) St'harf, to whom he was married on his 
deathbed. 

The wife (if AVilliam Scharf and the mother of 
August died .Tanuary 1), 18'.t(l. They had no other 
children, but tli(jse already rdiove mentioned re- 
ceived the tender parental care that comes cmly 
from great and generous hearts. Mr. Scharf is 
possessed of an !im|)le fortune, and takes all 
the comfort he can get from these latter years of 
life. Mr. and Mrs. C'liarles Keiini and liis ado|)ted 
son Thomas reside with him in his home adjoining 
Sorento. Tlun-e is a satisf.action to the observer 
of many of the freaks of fale. in the fact that oc- 
casionally merit reaiis its own reward, and ])a- 
tience, perseverance and industry do not become 
so war[icd that the broader interests of life cannot 
be thoroughly enjoyed. 



^j.- 



'-viS) 



E^-^^^m 



i— 



m 



'OIIN SCIHA'P, one of the leading business 
men of (ireeiiville, is tliere engaged in the 
inanufactui'e of wagons, and as this is one 
of tlie most import.ant industries of the 
city, the proprietor well deserves represenl;iti(ui in 
this voluuR'. His liirtli (declined near lierne.Swit- 



246 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



zerland, in 1833. His fattier, John Schlup, 8r., 
was also a native of that country, was a wagon- 
maker by trade, and in connection therewith car- 
ried on agricultural jiursuits. The family num- 
bered four children. 

Our subject attended the public schools, and at 
the age of seventeen bade good-bye to friends and 
native land, and sailed for America, landing in 
New York on the 2d of November, 1851. A 
stranger in a strange land, he was thenceforth 
dependent upon his own resources. Going to 
Ohio, he secured work in a coal mine during 
the winter, and in the following spring began 
work as a farm hand at 18 per month. After that 
summer he drove horses on the Ohio Canal until 
the autumn of 1854, when he came to Madison 
County, 111., and located in Highland, where was 
living his maternal uncle, Michael ]Mollet, who was 
engaged in the manufacture of wagons. His uncle 
wished him to learn the trade, and he did so, serv- 
ing an apprenticeship of two years. He then 
worked as a jourue^'man for a month, after which 
he bought out his uncle and carried on business 
for himself for two 3'ears. 

On the expiration of that period, Mr. .Schlup 
sold and came to Bond County. He helped to Lay 
out the town of Dudleyville, bought lots in the 
place, built a house and shop, and there carried on 
wagon-making until 1861, when, at the call of his 
adopted country for troops, he enlisted in Com- 
pany D, Third Illinois Cavalry. He went in .as a 
private, but was discharged as a .Sergeant. For 
three years, he faithfully defended the old flag and 
the cause it repiesented, and, with the arm}' of 
Gen. Curtis, participated in many battles west of 
the Mississippi. After his discharge, in 1864, he 
returned to his home, and in September of the 
.same 3'ear came to CJreenville. For three years he 
worked at w.agon-making in the emplo}' of others, 
and then commenced business for himself on Sec- 
ond Street, where he remained four years, when he 
traded for the brick wagon shop on I'liird Street, 
his present location. The wagon shop is 24x50 
feet, the smithy and ])aint shops are both build- 
ings of the same dimensions, and the storage room 
is 30.x36 feel. Km[)l<iymeiil is furnished some 
seven men, and he is doing an excellent business. 



In 1857, Mr. Schlup was united in marriage with 
Miss Catherine, daughter of INHchael Buchter, a na- 
tive of German}-. The}- have two children, Mai^y 
and John. The former is now the wife of William 
Gerkin, of Greenville, and their unic)n has been 
blessed with two children. 

Mr. Schlup is independent in politics. He faith- 
fully served for two years as City Alderman, but 
has never been a politician m the sense of ofllce- 
seeking. Socially, he is a member of the Odd Fel- 
lows society and the Grand Army of the Republic. 
Besides his business, he owns two lots and a resi- 
dence on Fifth Street. He has worked up an excel- 
lent trade, and well deserves the liberal patronage 
which he receives, for his work is done in a first- 
class manner, and he is upright and honorable in 
all his dealings. As a citizen, he is public-spirited 
and progressive, and has done much for the up- 
building and development of the best interests of 
the communit}-. 



^•'^'r^t - > I I I I 



1 




ILIJAM N. DONNELL, who for many 
years was connected with the agricultural 
[/ interests of this community, but is now 
living retired in Greenville, has the honor of be- 
ing a native of Bond County, and is a worthy re- 
presentative of one of the prominent pioneer 
families. He was born November 1, 1821. Two 
years previously his parents, George and Anna 
(McLean) Donnell, had come to this county from 
North Carolina. They were natives of Guilford 
County, that State, and mention is made of 
them in the sketch of Joseph Donnell, which ap- 
pears on another page of this work. On reaching 
this county they located on a farm live miles 
southwest of Greenville. 

At one lime the father was acquainted with 
every man in the county, for the settlers were few 
at that early day. Subsequently he removed to 
I.a Grange Township, where he purchased a farm 
of one hundred and sixty acres of timber land and 
si.vlj acres of prairie. Ijiter he removed to 



PuETRAlT AND BIOGRAI^HICAL RECORD. 



247 



riieenville, and spent the remainder of bis days 
retired from labor, and died in 1877, wlien about 
ciglitv-four years of ag'e. His wife was called to 
her final rest in 1888, at the very advanced age of 
ninety-five years. 'Die family numbered ten chil- 
dren, six of wliiini are now living, as follows: Jo- 
seph M., William X., James JNI., (ieorge W., Henry 
C. and Mrs. Emily McCord. 

William Douuell spent the days of his boyhood 
and 30utli in the usual manner of farmer lads. 
He was educated in Ilillsboro Academy, and after- 
ward engaged in teaching school for two terms. 
He took a trii) to North Carolina on horseb.ack, 
some eight hundred miles, and while on his return 
visited Gen. Jackson in Tennessee. He also heard 
Henry Clay speak for two hours in Raleigh, N. C. 
In 1847, Mr. Donnell was united in marriage with 
Miss Luticia J. White, of Greenville, daughter of 
.Samuel and Cynthia White, who were pioneer 
settlers of this village. I>y theii- union have lieen 
born seven children: Delia, now the wife of W. C. 
Ingram, of Kansas, by whom she has three chil- 
dien, Nellie, Lotta and William; Mary E., Samuel 
H. and Calvin M., at home; Albert O., who married 
Ella AVall.ace; William D. and Ellen W. 

Throughout the greater part of his business 
career, Mr. Donnell engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits. Entering one hundred and twenty acres of 
land from the <TOveinment, upon which not a fur- 
row had been turned or .an improvement mad(?, he 
began farming in La (iraiige Township, and to the 
development and cultivation of his land devoted 
his energies until he transformed it into an excel- 
lent farm. He also extended its boundaries until 
it now comprises fotir hundred acres. Tlic im- 
provements upon it aie in keeping with a model 
farm, and in all its apiiointinents the |)lace seems 
conqilete. He continued to engage in the opera- 
tion of his land until 187."), when he removed to 
Creenville, in order to better educate hi,- children. 
and has since m.ade his home here. 

The cause of temperance has ever found in Mr. 
Donnell a warm friend, and he votes with the 
Prohibition party. He has never been an otlice- 
secker. but served as 'I'reasurer of his township for 
twenty years, a fact which indicates his personal 
popularity and the high regard in which he is 



held. He has long been a faithful member of the 
Presbyterian Cliuich, and for thirty years h.as 
been one of its Elders, serving as an Folder of the 
church at (ireenville for twelve years. The his- 
tory of liond County is well known to him, and 
he is numbered among its honored early settlers. 



+^•^;^•^ 



\I7 15. HCBHARD, one of the old settlers and 

I ((pj prominent farmers of Bond County, resides 
j 'L^V . on secti(Ui 6, Ple.asant jNIound Township. 
He is dc^scended from patriotic ancestors, and iiis 
father, Peter Hubbard, Sr., fought bravely on the 
side of the Colonists during the entire period of the 
Revolutionary War. He was a native of South 
Carolina and was there reared to manhood. After 
leaving home, he first settled in Tennessee and 
then came to Madison County, 111., in the year 
IHO'J. Here he married ^lartha (4ilham, who was 
also a native of South Carolina. 

In 1817 Mr. and Mrs. Huljbard moved into Bond 
County, where he took up sixteen hundred acres 
of Government land. He was obliged to go over 
into Madison County to get men to assist in raising 
his hou.se, as he was one of the first settlers in the 
new county, and the largest hind-holder. Here he 
remained until within one year of his death, which 
event occurred when he was eighty-seven. The 
death of his wife took place when she was sixty 
years of age, and the parents lie I)uried on tlie old 
hoiiie place. Nine children were born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Hubbard, eight of whom grew to inatLiiity. 
.Ml of these but one were born in J!ond County, 
111.. ;uid four of the family are still living, three of 
them in B(nid County. 

( )ur subject is the fourth child and third son, 
;uid his birth occurred in Bond County, 111., Decem- 
lier'JI. \s\'.K He was reared in his native pl.ace 
and his education was obtained in the pioneer log 
schoollioiise, wlicrc rough slabs served for .seats, one 
small window admitted light, a stick chimney hehl 
tlie logs of firewood, and the door had wooden 



248 



. PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



hinges, from vvhicli hung the proverbial latch string. 
Our subject remained with his parents assisting on 
the faiiii until his marriage, October 6, 1840, when 
he was united with Miss Sarali Grigg. Tliis lady- 
was born in ]S'orth Carolina, Ai)ril 14, 1821, and came 
to I'.ond County. 111., with lier father and mother 
when she was nine years old. 

The \-oung mairied couple began their wedded 
life on a farm in ]\Inlberry (irove Township, where 
the husband had entered two hundred acres of land. 
They remained there for about six years, and then 
moved to Fond du I.ac County. Wis., where he en- 
gaged for about eight yeais in farming and lum- 
bering. In 18.50, he again changed his location 
and moved to ]\Iarion, Linn County, Iowa, where 
he remained for four years, but in 1860 he moved 
his family back to IJond County and located where 
he now resides. Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard were tlie par- 
ents of tlie following children: Francis M. died at 
the age of about twenty-two years; John H. resides in 
St. Louis; Elizabeth E. died at the age of thirteen 
3'ears; George N., lives in Greenville; and Ciiarles li. 
and AVilliam B. reside in Smitliborough. 

Our subject has a farm of one hundred and twen- 
ty-six acres and is now carrying on general farm- 
ing. For many j'ears he worlied at his trade of a 
carpenter, and has done considerable building in 
Bond County, many houses and barns in that lo- 
cality testifying to his skill in that line. Mr. IIul)- 
bard has been a stanch Re|)ul)lican since the forma- 
tion of the party. He now lives one mile from the 
place where he was born, and he and his wife are 
one of foui' couples living in the same township 
who have been married over fifty vears. 






\|7^RANK YACKLE. One of the most nole- 
Mfffi' worthy establishments in Nokomis, 111., is 
A, the footwear manufactory of which Frank 

Yackle is the proprietor. He can guarantee his 
goods to his customers for superiority of material, 
workmanship, style and durability. He is well 
known for his enterprise, eiieigy and push, and 



richly deserves the large measure of popularity 
and prosperity that he now enjoys. He w.as born 
in lladcn, Germany, August 12, 1863, and is a son 
of Anslen and Catherine Yackle, the former of 
whom was a w-eaver in the Old Country, but after 
coming to America, in 1866, located at Ilillsboro, 
111., where he was for some years employed in the 
woolen mills. He was a typical (ierman in every 
respect, being industrious and honorable, and 
those who knew him had naught to say of him 
but kind words. 

Frank Yackle grew to mature years in Ilillsboro, 
and until fifteen years of age had the good for- 
tune to attend the iniblic schools of that place, 
where he proved himself a good average student, 
and made reasonable progress in his studies. Af- 
ter he attained his fifteenth year. he went to Louis- 
ville, Ky.. to join an uncle, who was a l)(>ot and 
shoe manufacturer of that city, and enteied his 
shop for the purpose of learning the trade. Dur- 
ing the four years that he remained thus emploj'ed, 
he learned the minutest detail of the business, and 
upon leaving the establishment he could make as 
good a boot or shoe as his uncle, who had devoted 
many years to the business, and thus was a credit 
to his teacher. He at oiice returned to Ilillsboro, 
111., where he estal)lished himself in the same busi- 
ness on his own account, but later turned his at 
tention to the clothing business, and o|)ened an 
establishment of some i)retensions in Ilillsboro,' 
which he conducted with reasonable success for 
three years, at the end of which time he disposed 
of his stock of goods and began turning his atten- 
tion to other pursuits. 

On the 1st of January, 18',ll,lie took u[) his resi- 
dence in Nokomis, and once more turned his at- 
tention to his former occu]iation of manufacturing 
boots and shoes, and founded his present reliable 
establishment. He at once secured a foremost 
place in the confidence and patronage of a dis- 
criminating public, and his unremitting energy 
and industry, as well as his upright dealing, have 
made liis house a thoroughly reliable one. He 
manufactures a full and complete line of footwear 
for all ages and both sc.xes, from the daintiest 
French kid ball slipper to stout shoes for men and 
boys' wear, and what he does not know about the 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



249 



manufacture of boots and slioes may safely be 
said to lie not worth knowing. Mis prices are very 
reasonable, and, as lie is prompt in meetin" his 
orders, his house has deservedly become a {lopular 
one. 

He is a ])ublie-spirited citizen, wide-awake to the 
interests of his section, and, being a gentleman of 
pleasing address, is much esteemed. He is a mem- 
ber of the Modern Woodmen of America, and, 
having been reared in the I^lman Catholic Churcli, 
has always clung to that faith. On tlie -Ith of 
May, 1886, he was united in marriage with Miss 
Catherine lluher, of Perry ('(.mnty. Mo., Iiy whom 
lie has two bright little children, a son and daugh- 
ter: Carl Huber and Florence Adeline. 



"^ 



€+^- 



,[^ .^ 



[^~ 



^' A. LYNCH. In no line so much as in the 
li(luor business has a buyer to rely .so much 
on the knowledge and reiiresentations of 
'^^l/' the seller, therefore it is pleasant to niite 
the name of a house liaving a special name for 
reliability. The firm of Lynch Hros. is one of the 
most priimment and reliable in the city of No- 
komis, and its members are men of enterprise and 
excellent business acumen. .1. A. Lynch, the sen- 
ior member of the firm, is a native of the "Sucker 
State," born in Litchfield, Montgomery County, 
January 18, 18(17, and is one of seven children 
liorn to Martin ."ind Nora Lynch, now residents of 
Litchfield. 

Martin Lynch was born in the Xditlidf Ireland, 
and eaiiii' to .\merica about the year LSI.'), locat- 
ing at Crawfordsville, Ind., where he was engaged 
by what is now known as the IJig F(uir Railroad 
and was for years section bn^-s at different |iiiiiits 
on the line of the road. For twenty years he has 
been thus engaged at Litchfield. He is a gentle- 
man iif niuch enter|irise and aiiibili<ui and from 
him (inr subject li.as no doubt inherited his good 
judgment and business ability. The seven chil- 
dren bdin to the marriage of this worthy man 
were in the order of their births as follows: 



Ella, wife of Adam Linck, of Litchfield; l^L .1., re- 
tired from business and residing at Maltooii, III.; 
Kate is the wife of P. .1. Kenaiy, a popular con- 
ductor on the AValiash IJailroad, who resides at 
Decatur; T. M., in the li(|Uor business at Sullivan, 
III.; J. .\. (oursubject); 1). l'..of the grain firniof F. 
A. Masher iV- Co., of Terre Haute, Ind., and Mary 
A., who has just graduated at the Ursuline Acad- 
emy at Litchfield, and is now residing with her 
|)arents at that place. 

The original of this notice was reared in Litch- 
field, and was a student in I'rsuline Academy un- 
til his thirteenth year, at whicii age he had mas- 
tered telegraphy, picking it u[> at odd times. 
When fourteen years of age, lie was placed in 
charge of the ollice at Litthfield, and, as far as we 
have been able to learn, was the youngest lioy who 
had filled a like jiosition up to that time. He was 
thoroughly familiar with the art, and continued 
in the olHce at Litclitield for several years. From 
there he went to I\Latloon, where his brother 
was train dis|)ati-lier, entered the oflice, and there 
continued for some time. Subsequently he went 
to St. Louis, liec.ame .assistant train dispatcher, 
hiilding this responsible position when but a boy, 
and nnnaining for some time. 

Returning to his native ])laee he ciiiilinueil as 
lelegrajih oiierator until isss. when he resigned 
his position to engage in the li(iuor business with 
his brother at Ivitchfield. In this business he re- 
mained until .Inly, 1h:m, when he was again 
seized witli a desire to return to his former occu- 
pation. He went to Denison, Tex., and worked 
in ail ollice at that place for a few months !iut it 
soon lost its charm and lie returned to Illinois. 
He resumed business with his brother in the sa- 
loon at Mattooii, where he conduct('<1 that Inisi- 
ness until he came to Nokoiiiis to take charge of 
the business at that {ilace. 

These brothers, active, enterprising and pro- 
gressive as they are, have a sakion at Sullivan, 
one at Mattoon and another at Nokomls. They 
handle the products of the best distilleries, and 
all their goods are noted for their purity and age, 
and their stock in all lines is full and complete. 
Although the history of this house in Xokomis is 
comi)arativelv short, it has .alre.adv reached a po- 



250 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



sition among the lencliiig houses in its line in that 
cit}', and its trade is constantly increasing in vol- 
ume. Our subject is a great favorite with the 
railroad lioj's and a very agreeable and genial 
j'oung man. 



H/ 



:h: 



a.i^^ 




j,ILLIA]\I W. WHITLOW. Our subject is 
a prominent citizen of the locality in which 
he lives, and Supervisor of Harvel Town- 
ship, Montgomery Count}'. lie lias a fine residence 
on section 21, of this township, where he carries 
on extensive farming operations. He is a native 
of Greene County, this State, and was born April 1, 
1834. His parents were Daniel and Fannie (Ray) 
Whitlow; the former was a native of Kentucky and 
the latter of North Carolina. They came to Greene 
County, 111., during the '30s. 

Our subject was the eldest son of his father's 
family. He was reared to man's estate in his 
native county and although he had not the advant- 
ages of a higher education, whatever knowledge 
he gained was due to his own efforts. He kecnl}' 
appreciates the fact that a man with a practical as 
well as theoretical knowledge of the sciences and 
arts has greatly the advantage over one who is 
deficient in this respect. 

Feeling that life was incomplete without a part- 
ner to share his J03'S and sorrows, our subject took 
unto himself a wife. He was married Maj' 11, 1858, 
his bride being Miss Fannie E.TIiomasson, a native 
of Greene County and a daughter of William 
Thomasson. This union has been lilessed by the 
advent of six children, whose names areas follows: 
George K., William A., John W., Agnes, Flora and 
Eva. Agnes is the wife of .John F. Aiill; Flora 
married P.. Hcndiicks, and Eva is the wife of John 
Fehr. 

The advent of our subject into Montgomery 
County was in I8()5,and at that time he settled in 
Harvel Township and that has been his home ever 
since, lie owns seven hundred and twent}' acres 
of land, of wliich ho has made an ideal farm. Every 



part is cultivated as thoroughly as possible, and 
drainage, water facilities and labor-saving devices 
are found here to perfection. All that he possesses 
he has made liy his personal exertion and as can be 
seen the years that have passed have been in nowise 
wasted. 

For fifteen years our subject served as Highway 
Commissioner and has been re-elected year after 
year to the office of Supervisor of the township. 
In addition to these duties, he is School Treas- 
urer and his public offices occupy much of his 
time and attention. Democracy is the prin- 
ciple of politics that appeals to him most strongly. 
He seeks to enthuse his neighbors with an idea 
that improvement in any tiirection is for the pub- 
lic good. P^aternally he is a member of the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows and serves at the 
present time as Treasurer of the lodge. 




D. HOLMES. Agriculture and stock- 
raising have formed the principal occupa- 
tion of this gentleman, and the wide-awake 
manner in which he has taken advantage 
of all methods and ideas tending to enhance the 
value of his property has had a great deal to do 
with obtaining the comiietence which he now en_ 
jovs. Personal popularity, it cannot he denied, 
results largely from the industry, perseveiiui ee and 
close attention to business which a person displays 
in the management of an}' particular branch of 
trade, and in the case of Mr. Holmes this is cer- 
tain 1\' true, for he has adhered so closely to the 
above-mentioned pursuits that high esteem has 
been placed upon him. He is a native-born resi- 
dent of this county, his birth having occurred in 
East Fork Township, September 5, 1847. 

His father, Joel Holmes, was a native of the 
Pine Tree State, born in the year 1813, and 
when about three years of age his father and 
mother died. lie was put out and reared in 
New York State until twcnly-otio years of age. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



251 



wlifii he came direct to Montgomery County, III., 
and entered tlie land where his son, our subject, 
now resides. He was married in this county to 
Miss Marandis I), liennelt, a native of tlie Old Bay 
State, who was thirteen years of age when she came 
with her parents to the Prairie State. After mar- 
riage Mr. and Mrs. Holmes located where our sub- 
ject now resides, made many improvements on the 
place and tiiere received their final summons, the 
father dying in 1870 and the mother in 1883. 
They were honest, uiu-ight citizens, frugal and in- 
dustrious, and were highly esteemed in the com- 
munity in which they lived. Their family con- 
sisted of six children, three sons and three daugh- 
ters, two sons and one daughter now living. 

The original of this notice was reared and edu- 
cated in his native place, and received his scholastic 
training in the log schoolhouse with no windows, 
and in Hillsboro Academy. lie assisted his father 
in developing and imitroving the home place, and 
continued to reside under the parental roof until 
his marriage, which occurred on the ;i()tii of Oc- 
tober, 1870, with Miss Amanda Barnett, a native 
of Franklin County, 111., born JNIay 7, 1849, and 
the daughter of Jesse and Mary A. (Abbott) Bar- 
nett. Directly after his marriage, our subject lo- 
cated on section "28, East Fork Township), and there 
continued to make his home for about five years, 
after which lie moved to the farm that he now 
owns. This is the old homestead, where his boy- 
hood days were spent, and here he expects to pass 
tlie remainder of his life. 

Mr. Ih)lines has made many imiirovements in his 
farm and now has one of the most productive 
tracts of land in the township. Beginning life 
with little capital, he has been very successful, and 
is now accounted one of the substantial men of his 
locality. His business abilities are liisl-class, and 
few men in this section have taken better advan- 
tage of such opportunities as have been afforded 
him. While his own interests have engrossed his 
attention to a great extent, he has never lost sight 
of the public welfare, and there are few of his fel- 
low-citizens who have been more helpful tii the 
general good of the community than has Mr. ]M. I). 
Holmes. 

His marriage resulted in liie birth of eight cliil- 



dren three daughters and five sons, as follows: 
Hattie D. died at the age of eighteen years; Fred 
D.; Ollie S. died when two years of age; Chester 
D.; Hiram M.; Clara I), ilicd at the. age of fourteen 
months; Bertie died at the age of niiu'teeii months, 
and Harold, died when (piitc small. j\lr. Holmes 
owns two hundred and forty acres of land, nearly 
all under cultivation, and is a first-class farmer and 
stock-raiser. In politics, he is a Repuliliean. For 
twenty years he has been School Director, and both 
he and his wife are worthy members of the Presby- 
terian Church, in which he is a Trustee. 



•?;#- 



=^s* 



DWARD N. WILCOX. It takes a strong 
arm and steady nerve to be the undoing of 
the gift of life to even the humblest of 
(lod's creatures, and although the purve\drs of 
the more substantial part of our daily food are 
necessarily engaged in a sanguinary business, it is 
one not enough appreciated. Mr. Wilcox, of whom 
we write, is the most prominent butcher in No- 
komis. lie is a native of this State, having been 
born in Christian County, Octolier oO, 18.M. 

Edward N. is a son of (ieorge and Elizabeth 
(Ilulett) Wilcox, both of whom, however, died 
when he w.as but a small child. The little orphan 
was made one of the family of Mr. .lohii Busby, a 
farmer residing in Montgomery County, 111. His 
educational advantages were but limited, but he 
had the making of a good man in him, and what 
is born in a man is sure to come out in his later 
life, irrespective of conditions or position. Jlr. 
Wilcox had inherited a sturdy fiber and iiersistency 
that insured him success in whatever he attempted. 
His ambitions were modest, and set within what he 
was sure that he could attain. 

Our subject was engaged in farming until I.S8((, 
when, in company with a brothei--iii-law, he came 
to Nokomis, and soon became engaged in the 
butcher business. He was thus occupied for four 
years, and then, feeling the necessity of a change, 
he returned to his agricultural occupation, and was 



•2;V2 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



thus Pillaged until the winter of 1892. .Seeing a 
lucrative opening in the Inisincss in which he had 
formerly been engaged, lie re-established himself 
in Nokoniis in partnership with Lewis J. Rupert, 
and they have the leading market in the town, and 
cater to the best trade. Their patrons are always 
sure of finding delicious, juicy steaks, and roasts 
such as would gladden the heart of an P^nglish- 
man. 

Our subject's family life began in 1882, when 
he was married to Miss Lilly D. Sleeth. Their 
pleasant home has been brightened by the advent 
of three attractive children: ^'erlie, Grace and 
May. Their fond |)arents look eagerly into the 
future, anticipating bright destinies for their dear 
ones. 









W/OHN HERWIG. The reputation that ISIr. 
I Ilerwig enjoys is not only that of a substantial 
^~. I and progressive farmer, but of an intelligent 
(^g/y man who is thoroughly posted on all public 
affairs. Although just in the prime of life, he has 
made his way to the front ranks among the ener- 
getic farmers of Montgomery County, and owing 
to the attention always paid to every minor detail, 
he has accumulated a fair share of this world's 
goods. He is now the owner of one of the finest 
farms adjoining the thriving town of Nokomis, 
and everything about his place indicates to the 
beholder that an cxiicnenced and competent hand 
is at the helm. 

Our subject was born in Cassel, Prussia, on 
the 9tli of January, 1848, and was the youngest of 
three children born to the marriage of AVilliam 
and Sophia (Fulkmar) Hcrwig, both natives of the 
Fatherland. Our subject's brother, George, never 
came to the United States, but the sister, Dena, 
emigrated to America and married Fredrick Rohl- 
ander. She died in Christian County, lU., in 1871, 
leaving two children. William Ilerwig, father of 
our subject, followed the pursuit of farming in 
his native country, and in addition was also en- 



gaged in wool-spinning. About 1868, he came to 
America, and located on a farm in Christian 
County, where the mother died December 31, 1872, 
and the father in the latter part of December, 1889. 
Tliey were highly esteemed wherever they made 
their home, and were most exemplary and honored 
citizens. 

The oi'iginal of this notice was trained to the 
arduous duties of the farm in his native country 
and received a good, practical education there. 
In connection with farming he also worked apart 
of the lime in the woolen mills with his father, 
and with him came to America in 1868. lie culti- 
vated the fertile soil of the Sucker State in con- 
nection with the brick-mason's trade. For some 
time he resided in Christian County, and later 
purchased a good farm there, about live miles 
north of Nokomis. On that place he resided until 
1889, when he sold out and purchased his present 
farm of two hundred ami fortj' acres adjoining the 
town of Nokomis, and now has one of the most 
productive, best-cultivated and best-improved 
farms in this section. His farming operations are 
conducted in a scientific manner and with a thor- 
ough knowledge of every detail of this industry. 
The buildings are sulistautial and commodious, 
and everything about the place shows Inm to 
be a man of more than ordinary thrift and energy. 
While he is an agriculturist of advanced ideas and 
tendencies, he does not lose sight of the stock in- 
terests, and has gained quite a local reputation as 
an extensive breeder of high-grade cattle. 

In politics, Mr. Ilerwig affiliates with the Re- 
publican part^-, and takes a deep interest in all 
political questions. He has held a number of local 
positions and discharged the duties of the same in 
a creditable and very satisfactory manner. For 
three years he was one of the Commissioners of 
Christian County, this State. In 1872, he married 
Miss Mary Teik, a native of this country, but of 
German descent. Ten children resulted from this 
union, nine of whom are living and named as fol- 
lows: Annie, AVilliam, Bertha, .lohnnie, Emma, 
Dena, Henry, Mary and Lydia. IVIr. Ilerwig and 
family are worthy members of the German Jleth- 
odist Episcopal Church, and are liberal contribu- 
tors to the same. They are active in all good 







o 

o 



O 
O 



O 
5 

GJ 

i — 

O 

O 

Z 



U.J 



o 



Q 

UJ 






PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



255 



work, and are classed among the public-spirited 
and esteemed citizens of the county. IMr. Herwig 
is a member of tlie Mutual llenelit Association 
connected with his church in Chicago, and is a 
member of the Modern AVoodmen of America. 



m 



UDCE A. (!. IIEXRY. Our suI)joct is one 
of the venerable men of r>ond County, foi 
nearly seventy years have h'ft tlieir record 
upon his head in whitened hair. However, 
he retains his honorable position by virtue of his 
keen al)ility and well-preserved ijhysical attributes. 
Ill- is a large land-owner in the county, iiossessing 
at the present time something more or less than a 
thousand .acres. 

Our subject was born in Bourbon County, Ky., 
February 28, 1824. He is a son of John and liet- 
sey (Mills) Henry, natives of South Carolina and 
Kentucky, respectively. John Henry was a car- 
penter by trade, and followed his calling for a 
number of years, but finally gave it up in favor of 
farming. Wlien a young man he was engaged at 
his trade in Kentucky. He came to Bond County, 
III., in November, 1827, and taking up Govern- 
ment land settled on Beaver Creek, where he re- 
mained until 18r)2, and then removed to Texas. 

Ten children made the house and home of John 
Henry and his wife a scene of busy .activity. These 
were all born in Illinois except the two eldest. 
Six of them are now living, our subject being the 
eldest of the family. John Henry, while in Texas, 
was verv extensively engaged in farming. He re- 
turned, however, to this county in IS.')!) and here 
died. His wife still survives and resides here at 
tlie au'e of ninety years, having celebrated her 
last liirthday in May, 18',)2. 

Our subject was reared on the home farm and 
received the advantages of a fair education. After 
remaining at home until twenty-six years of age, 
he spent one year in the North. Prior to leaving 
home, he studied law and was admitted to the Bar 



in 185.3. He commenced his practice in Bond 
County and has followed it ever since. In con- 
nection with his profession he has had large real- 
estate interests. As before stated, he owns one 
thousand .acres of land in this couiity, all of whicli 
is under cultivation, and lie also owns large tr.acts 
in other counties, lie is one of the Directors of 
the Vandalia Railroad. The first oflice to which 
he was elected in tliis county was Justice of the 
Peace. In 1872 and 1874, he represented Bond, 
Clinton and Washington Counties in the State 
Legislature. 

In |H|8, our subject married Bliss Mary Hull, 
of Bond County. She is a daughter of lienjamin 
and Luciuda (Allen) Hull, natives-of Tennessee 
and Indiana, respectively. ( tf the two children 
Ijorn of this marri.age that are still living, Eliza, 
who is now Mrs. IJei'ry, of Pratt, Kan., is tlu^ 
mother of four children, wliose names are Nellie, 
Nonie, Caroline and Henry. Lucy is Mrs. T. P. 
Morey, of Greenville. Her twodiildren are Henry 
and Louise. 

Judge Henry lives in his own residiuice, which 
is a line brick house, imposing in style and struc- 
ture. It has handsome grounds and its furni>h- 
ing is char.acterised by the idea of comfort lather 
than of useless elegance. Judge Henr}- hasalvva\s 
been a worker in the cause of the Republican 
party, although he can never have been said to be 
a politician, leaving that to men whose individual 
interests demanded less time than his own. 



- --^ 



m>^^<m- 



(^^ LEE ELLIOTT. .Sorento is truly of 
^^^^ mushroom growth, scarce numbering in its 
(1\/\m) history a decade, and yet so well organ- 
ized is the town as to compete successfully 
in commercial interests with many of its older 
sisters. It commands a splendid agricultural dis- 
trict and the trade enjoyed therefnnn is very large. 
Our subject, Mr. Elliott, is one of the pioneer mer- 
chants of the place and is numbered among the 
most substantial men here in business. He was 



256 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



born in Grayson Count.y, Ky., May 20, 1856, and 
is the only child of George and Lucina (Kessinger) 
Elliott. 

Our subject's father, George Elliott, was a lineal 
descendant of Commodore J. D. Elliott, who was 
second in command under Ferry in his memorable 
fight on Lake Erie m 1812, and who succeeded to 
the office in 1813. and was in command of the Phil- 
adelphia Navy Yard at the time of his death in 
1845. The Elliott family was no doubt of Scotch 
ancestrv, but the date and the name of the orig- 
inal emigrant is a matter of conjecture, but his 
arrival occurred, as nearly' as we can learn, early in 
the eighteenth century. 

The mother of our subject, Lucina Kessinger, 
was, like her husband, born in Grayson County, 
Ky. She was the third child of William L. Kes- 
singer, who was liorn in Hart Count.y, Ky., and 
was the son of .losepli Kessinger. The latter in 
turn was the eldest son of one Solomon Kessin- 
ger, he being the son of Mathias Kessinger, a 
German nobleman of great prominence and 
wealth. Solomon Kessinger was born in what is 
now the province of Bavaria, near the River 
Rhine, in the united kingdom of (iermany. He 
was educated by Ins father for a Catholic priest, 
but before taking the vows he became enamored 
with one Betsey Greenwalt, and, as the laws of 
the Roman Catholic Church forbade the marriage 
of the clergy, love, as is usual, won the day, and 
he forever renounced Catholicism, left his native 
land, fame and fortune behind, and came to 
America, where he met his betrothed at Baltimore. 
There they were married and at once went to what 
is now Hart CouiH^-, Ky., whence the Kessinger 
family in America springs. 

We have given suflicient outline of the ances- 
try of the Elliott and Kessinger families to show 
the i)atrician blood that flows in the veins of the 
man of whom we write. He was less than a year 
old when brought to Illinois by his relatives. 
They located at Lilclifield, whcii' he was reared. 
He early applied himself to obtaining a liberal 
education, which by hard work and perseverance 
he <'ompleted at theLitchlield St'ininaiy before he 
had reached his nineteenth year. After the close 
of his studies he was employed as a successful 



teacher in the public schools, spending three 3'ears 
of the time in Kansas. 

February 27, 1878, our subject was married to 
Miss Maggie, daughter of Isaac Bishop, a pioneer 
of Montgomery County and a veteran of the Mex- 
ican AVar, who died in 1863, leaving a snug 
fortune, a portion of which was inherited by the 
daughter. After marriage, Mr. Elliott continued 
to teach, judiciously investing his earnings in land 
which brought him in quite a comfortable income. 
With the proceeds of his investment, in June, 
1882, he established himself in business at Ray- 
mond, in the northern part of Montgomery County; 
but before he had been there long he saw a better 
field for his young and energetic mind, for on 
what was known as Pleasant Prairie, in Bond 
County, the Jacksonville & Southeastern and 
Charleston, Neoga & St. Louis Railway Companies 
had formed a crossing. The town of Sorento was 
laid out and we find that Mr. Elliott was among 
the first to establish himself in liusiness in the new 
place. 

Moving his stock of goods from Raymond, our 
subject came here with the determination to de- 
velop his interests in proportion with the devel- 
opment of the iilace. In 1884, he erected a two- 
story brick building, and therein he is now estab- 
lished in the general mercantile business. He was 
one of the original stockholders of the Sorento 
Coal Company, and for four years was a member 
of the Village Board of Trustees. His business 
interests arc by no means confined to the mercan- 
tile line. He is engaged in the land, loan and 
insurance business and formerly carried on a 
heavy business in buying and selling grain, and 
also handled large quantities of railroad ties. As 
he is a Notary Public he is frequently called upon 
to look up and settle estates. Besides giving an 
aide attention to these various interests, he is 
devoting much time to improving his beautiful 
suburban farm, where he is extensively engaged 
in fruit culture. He raises a good class of stock, 
having upon his farm some animals that are well 
pedigreed. 

Politically, our subject springs from a long line 
of Whig ancestors, who all became Republicans on 
the organization of the part3', and with this party 



PORTRAIT AND BlOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



257 



lie was identified tiiitH 1884, when lie jdined hands 
with the Pr(>hil)itionists. Since that time lie has 
thrown all the energy and enthusiasm of his na- 
ture into the balance with his [larly. He is at 
present a County Central Coininitteeman, and 
also a local manager. lie has been a life-long 
temperance advocate. In his church associations, 
he is a l\Ietliodist and no man in his locality is 
more devoted to the cause of Christianity than he. 
Greatly interested in Sunday -school work, at the 
present writing he is Township Chairman of the 
State Sunday-school Association. Modest and 
unassuming, Mr. Elliott is a man who makes 
friends with all with whom he comes in contact. 



•*^"*i^^^^^i*'*^-i 



^^IIOIMAS P. MOREY. who is now living re- 
tired in Greenville, was horn September 27, 
^' 1847, in Mulberry Grove, Mulberry Grove 
Township, Bond County. The Morey family is of 
English descent. The grandparents of onr subject, 
David and Harriet (Campliell) Morey, were na- 
tives of \'ermont and New Hampshire, respec- 
tively, and became pioneers of Knox County, Ohio, 
where the grandfather engaged in farming and also 
followed his trade of a stone mason. He was a 
member and liberal supporter o( the Methodist 
Episcopal Church and a highly respected citizen. 
His son, Hiram Morey, father of our subject, was a 
natixe of the lUicke\'e State. He married Eliza J. 
Brf)wn, a native of Tennessee and a daughter of 
.lames and Dorcas Brown, who were also natives of 
that State, but who emigrated to Eayette County, 
1 11., in an early d.ay. The father was a farmer by oc- 
cupation and reared a large family. Hiram Morey, 
having emigrated from Ohio to Illinois, settled in 
Bond County, hut was married in E.ayette County. 
He located in Mulberry Grove Township, Bond 
County, purchased land and engaged in the nianu- 
f,actiire of carriages, wagons, etc., until 1875, since 
whicli time he has lived retired from active l)iisi- 
ness. 

The Morey family nuiiiliered ten children, seven 



of whom are yet living, namely: Sarali, wife of T. 
M. Sawrey, of I>ond County; Thomas P., of this 
sketch; Dorcas, who became the wife of W, W, 
Willett, and dieil in Fayette County in 188'.), at 
the age of forty y<'ars, leaving live children; 
Harriet, wife of II, Lilligh, of Bond County; 
Henrietta, wife of .lohn W, Jones, of Bond County; 
Belle, wife of F, Siiodgrass, of this county; Doi'a, 
wife of W, A. Davis, and Orrin M. 

Our suliject spent the days of his boyhood and 
youth quietly upon his father's farm and w;is edu- 
cated in the district schools. Then between the 
ages of nineteen and twenty-three years, he en- 
gaged in teaching, after wliicli he was a student in 
McKendree College, of l>ebanon. 111., for two years. 
He then became Principal of a High Scliool in 
Sandoval, 111., and afterward was Principal of tlie 
schools in Blulberry (irove for a year. 

Thomas P. Morey has been prominently identi- 
fied with the public interests of the county for 
some time and is widely and favorably known 
throughout its borders. In 187<;, he was elected 
Circuit Clerk of Bond County for a term of four 
years, and on the expiration of his term of service 
was re-eleeted, in 1880, and served in all for eight 
years. In 1885, he opposed Prof. Slade, President 
of Almira College, as candidate for an unexpired 
term ,as County Superintendent and won the elec- 
tion. In 188G, he was elected and served for a 
full term of four years as County Suiierintendent 
of Public Schools, since which time he has lived a 
retired life. 

Sei)tember 27, 187.'!, Mr. More}- was unilcd in 
marriage with Miss Oilie Borror, who died in 1878. 
In 188.3, he was married to Miss Lucy A,, daugh- 
ter of .ludge A. G. Henry, of Greenville. Two 
children grace their union, Henry II. and Louise. 
They have a beautiful home just south of Almira 
College and are numbei'ed among the iironiinent 
and highly-respected peojile of the community, the 
I'rofessor and his wife having many friends. 

i\Ir. Morey is one of the most extensive land- 
owners of the county. .\s his financial resources 
increased, he made judicious investments and at 
one time owned some fifteen hundred acres. He 
now has one thousand acres under good improve- 
ments. In politics, he is a stalwart Kepublican and 



258 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



is now serving as a member of tlie Board of Edu- 
cation. Mr. Moroy i.s a line scholarly gentleman, a 
leading and inHuenlial citizen of the county, and 
with pleasure we present this record of his life to 
our readers. 



!-ss» / 



(OSEPII M( CULLEY, one of tiie prominent 
and wealthy old settlers of this county, is 
a well-known resident of LaGrange Town- 
ship, and has seen almost all of the wonder- 
ful growth of the county. His part in the same 
has not been small, as he came here in the early 
days when the deer still roamed over the broad 
prairie at will, and the cultivated fields were only 
brush and over-grown wilderness. 

The subject of this sketch wa^^ liorn in Rock- 
bridge County, A'a., November 11,1821. lie was 
the son of Frederick McCulley, who was a native 
of County Deny, Ireland, in which country he 
was also married and came to America in .Tune, 
1819. His first settlement was in the State of 
Virginia and there he found a home until the year 
1838, when the desire came upon him to see more 
of this great country, and accordingly he moved 
his family to Alabama in 18:58, but not finding 
everything congenial there he came to Mont- 
gomery County, 111., in 1841. 

Going into the wilderness at that day was a 
very serious undertaking, as Indians were still 
very numerous in the new State, and the wild an- 
imals still found a home there. But the hearts of 
those early pioneers were lirave and they had 
courageous wives and daring children, and the 
long wagon journey did not appall them. Many 
long days were consumed iuid many were the 
eamps made at night by tiie ro.adside log fire, but 
at last the new home was reached; a farm at first 
was rented, and INIr. IMcCuUey and family settled 
down to become residents of the great Prairie 
Stale. This farm which he leased and worked, is 
the Poor Farm of Montgomery County. Father 



McCulley died in Bond County when he had 
reached the age of seventy-two years. He liad be- 
come a Whig in his political belief, for he was a 
man who took a deei) interest in his new home as 
soon as he reached these liosjji table shores. 

The mother of our subject had also been liorn 
among the green hills of Ireland, in County Deny, 
and after a life of much activity she died at the 
age of sixty-four years. Both she and her husband 
had been firm adherents of the Scotch-Presbyter- 
ian faith, and lived as they finally died, good, 
worthy people. Six children were left of the fam- 
ily to mourn the parents' death: Elizabeth, 
Joseph, Margaret, James, Martha and Jane. 

Our subject was reared on the farm and had 
only the educational advantages which were 
offered at the subscription schools. The old log 
house is still leinembered with its slab benches and 
great wide mud and stick chimney, its door with 
wooden hinges, and the old-fashioned birch rod 
was not absent. Game was abundant for those 
who cared to hunt, and wolves were so trouble- 
some that sometimes the settlers would have to 
combine to drive them away. 

Farming was a pleasure to our subject, as the 
rich, black loam so readily returned iirolits, but 
the many inconveniences of pioneer life made the 
business of tilling the soil much less profitable for 
time and labor expended than at the present day. 
One great lack was the distance of the markets, 
and Jlr. McCulley very often made the long trip 
to St. Louis with grain and stock and camped out 
by the vvay, as at least five days were required to 
make the journey. 

Our subject came here in 184(;, and bought 
eighty acres of land and rented more for some 
years. He began the struggle of life with very 
little, but industry and thrift have given great re- 
turns, and now he is one of the financial pillars of 
the county. It was not until in April, 187G, that 
our subject felt himself ready to become a bene- 
dict, and at that time Miss Martha L. Mitchell 
became his wife. She w.as born in Missouri, 
Noveml)er 1.5, 1840, and one child, Margaret 
L., has been born to them. The farm of our sub- 
ject consists of three hundred and twenty acres of 
land and all of it is improved, and he has become 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAFH'X'AL RECORD. 



259 



a do;iler in stock, horses, mules, cattle, sheep and 
hugs, l)ul considers that he has made the most of 
his money out of mules, lie has raised some grain, 
Init deals mostly in stock. 

Our subject and wife arc Presbyterians and arc 
verv higliU' regarded in the neighborhood. Mr. 
McC'ullcy is familiarly called " Uncle Joe " by all, 
and enjoys the esteem in which he is held. In 
politics, lie is a Reiiublican, but iiis pleasant man- 
ner, even when disagreeing with his political op- 
ponents, never gives (.iffcnsc. lie is a typical pio- 
neer, and as such i.> well known and beloved. 
Probably no man in the county has more friends 
than " I'ncle Joe" McC'uliey. He has gained 
much more than a competency m these long years 
of labor, l)Ut belter still is the regard in which he 
is held by those who know him best. 










ARTIN V. niNKLE. Tiie pursuits of life 
are as varied as are the tastes and capaci- 
ties of men; and it is an interesting and 
useful study to oliserve the degrees of 
their assimilation. Rever.ses in the early business 
efforts of life are often ripening in their results, 
though the experience is dear. When these occur, 
pride should be invited to the rear, and, if needs 
be, the victim should step down into tiie lireach 
and resolutely commence again from tiie bottom 
of the ladder and profit by the miscarriage. Lalior 
is honorable — idleness is corrupting. A narrative 
of success in life may lie found in the career of 
Martin Y. Ilinkle, who is one of the prominent, 
influential and representative farmers and stock- 
raisers of liois ])■ Are Township, Montgomery 
County. 

A successful man of affairs, a wiirthy cilizcn, 
and one of the most respected men in llie county is 
]Mr. Ilinkle. lie was born in Sangamon County, 
111., August 12, 181:5, and inherits the sturdy 
traits of cliaractcr of his (Jeriiian .'incestors on tlie 
])aternal side. His father, .lacob Ilinkle, was lioi'ii 
in Penns^'lvauia, and the mother, whose maiden 



name was Nancy Hatchet, was a native of the Old 
Dominion. Al)out 1818, the parents emigrated 
Westward and made a settlement in .Sangamon 
County, III., where they were among the very tii'st 
settlers. 

In this new counti'v and .among utter strangers, 
Jacob Ilinkle began improving his farm and culti- 
vating the rich soil which soon brought him in 
large returns. He passed his entire life in lliis 
county and died on the 12th of November, 1<S89. 
In his death the community lost one of its pioneer 
and most highl^'-esteemed citizens. He lived to 
be seventy-seven years of age. Of the children 
born to his marriage the following are now living: 
Elizabeth, Mrs. fialloway, a widow; John; Diana, 
wife of Michael Baker; Martin; Sarah J., wife of 
Charles Willison; Klvira; Harrison H.; IMary, 
wife of Augustus Smitii; Amanda, and Laura A. 
The father was a soldier in the Black Hawk War, 
and was a worthy and exemjilary member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. His widow survives 
him and is now ])ast seventy years of age. She 
still makes her home in Sangamon County, of 
which she is one of the pioneers. 

JNIartin V. Ilinkle was reared to man's estate in 
his native county, and inherited the best qualities 
of industry and energy from both sides of the 
house. Early in life he showed a determination 
to make his w.ay in the woild, and although his 
education was limited, he was a keen observer of 
men and things, and is mainly self-educated. He 
lias'been a thorough student of books during his 
entire life, and in that w.ay has ac(iuired a knowl- 
edge of all important subjects. 

The marriage of Mr. Ilinkle to Jliss Sarah E. 
Hoover, a native; of Christian County, III., oc- 
curred on the 13th of March, 1867, and three 
children were born of this union, viz.: Charles 
M., born .luiie 1,"), 1808; Lula E., March 29, 1870, 
and Alpheus, July IC, 1873. Mrs. Ilinkle's father, 
George Hoover, is a. resident of Marion County, 
III. She was born August 22, 1819. .\fter his 
marriage Mr. Ilinkle resided in S;uiganion County 
until the sirring of 1875, since which time he has 
lieen a residentof Montgomery County. He is the 
owner of nearly twfi hundred and twenty-five acres 
of land in Bois D' Arc Township, and is one of the 



2fi0 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 



wide-awake, thorouyli-gdiiitr farmers and stock- 
raisers of this section. He raises a high grade of 
trotting horses, and is engaged in genera! mixed 
farming. He is ijublic-spirited and is in favor of 
all movements that have for tlieir ol>ject the ad- 
vancement of the county. His well-improved 
farm and fine residence attract the attention of 
all, and in the management of his large estate he 
has shown excellent judgment and sound sense. In 
politics, he advocates the platform of the Demo- 
cratic party. 



e^+^ 



II. SPRADLINd. a retired farmer of Mul- 
berry Grove, was born in Maury County, 
Tenn., August 1, 1828. He is the son of 
%^J .l.ames Spradling, who.se birtliplace was in 
the State of Tennessee, and who was learcd in 
that State and came to liond County, 111., in 18.'52. 
He located in ^lulbeiiv Grove Township, where 
he took up (ioverninent land and lived in a log 
liouse until the time of his death, at the age of 
seventy-two 3'ears. The mother of our suliject, 
Frances T. Oliver, was a member of tlie old Vir- 
ginian family of that name and was reared in that 
State. Slie attained to the age of eigiity-three 
years. Mr. and Mrs. Spradling lived peaceful, 
happy lives, and died mourned by friends and 
relatives. 

The family of .Mr. and Mrs. Spradling consisted 
of two daughters and one son, the latter being 
our subject. Emerantlia is the widow of James 
Rilej- and resides in Mulberry Grove Township; 
and Frances J. is the widow of .loiin Scgrest, of 
Mulberry Townsiiip. Our subject was the second 
child, and was four years old wiien he came to 
liond County with his parents. His school ex- 
perience did not begin until he was several years 
older, when he attended the log schoolhouse of 
pioneer days, and the puncheon floor and slab 
seats of the barren little building will never be 
forgotten. Air and sunlight were unobstructed, 
because there was no glass in the window, and 



the birch trees grew near, so there never was any 
difficult}' concerning a proi)er amount of dis- 
cipline. Mr. S[)radling was reared to farm work 
and became thoroughly acquainted with the re- 
quirements of the soil and the jjroper cultivation 
of the cereals. His mind was not much disturbed 
by the outside, world, for, except at the market 
towns, there was not much communication in 
those days, with the great unknown lauds east of 
the State of Illinois, where civilization reigned, 
and west of it, wliere tliere was still a wilderness. 

The neighbors in those pioneer times were 
friendly and sociable, and when our subject 
reached the age of twenty-one years there was 
no difficulty in selecting a congenial partner for 
his life journey. The lady of his choice was 
Miss Cynthia Ann .Tackson, a native of Indiana, 
and the daughter of William Jackson. After his 
marriage, which took place December 30, 1849, 
our subject removed to section 25, Mulberry 
Grove Township, and there built a log house, 
16x18 feet, for which he cut the logs himself. 
That liumlile abode was for a time the family 
home. 

Mr. Spradling was engaged for seven years in 
the lumber and hardware business at Mulberry 
Grove. He has a fine farm of two hundred and 
forty-three acres in Mulberry Grove Township, 
which he now rents. He also owns a farm of 
ninety acres in Fa\'ette Count}', which is well 
improved with a brick house and good barns. His 
property' in the village is quite valuable. Mr. 
and Mrs. Spradling became the parents of seven 
children, two daughters and five .^ons. John F. 
died November 25, 1881; Eliza V. is tlie wife of 
JoseiJh Call, a farmer of Fayette County; Will- 
iam II. is an agent and telegraph operator at Poca- 
hontas, 111.; Albert M. lives in Mulberry Grove; 
(Jeorge L. is located on his father's farm in Fa}'- 
ette County; Laura is the wife of Frank Brown, 
who is in the luiuiier business in Mulberry Grove; 
Harry W. is at home. The mother of tiiis family 
died March :il, 1883. 

Our subject started witli but little means, and 
now has the .satisfaction of knowing himself to be 
one of the wealthiest men in the townshij), and his 
money was not made in speculating, by which one 



PORTRAIT AND ];iO(iKAl'lIICAL RECORD. 



261 



man gets rich at the expense perhaps of a hundred 
otliers. He is a Republican now, although before 
the war he was a Democrat. lie was deeply in- 
leicsti'd in tlie Underground Railroad and assisted 
many negroes to reach the land of freedom, Can- 
ada. His fellow-citizens i-egard him with resjiect 
and esteem, and have called upon him to act as 
Seliool Director. His position in the community 
is one of prominence and imiiortance, and he has 
done his part toward the upliuilding of ISond 
Count\-. 



.1^ 




•f'^^^^'f-<^'^ 



ILLIAM L. WOOSTER. The biography of 
the successful gentleman whose name in- 
^ troduces this sketch fui-nishes another 
instance of a poor 1)03' who b\- industry and tlirift 
has gained wealth and social position through his 
own unaided elTorts. A prominent liusiness man 
of Litchfield, he is also poimlai' and well known 
thronghout the surrounding coun'ry. Our sub- 
ject IS a son of William C. and Mary ((Gilbert) 
Wooster, honorable residents of Connecticut, 
where the father conducted a general store until 
his death, which occurred in 1863. Ilis faithful 
wife still survives him and makes her home in 
Connecticut, where she has lived for so many 
years. 

The son of these parents, the subject of this 
sketch, was born in New Preston, March "23, 1861, 
the year memorable in histoiy as that in which 
tlie great Civil War burst upon the country with 
such fury. When only two and one-half years of 
age, death deprived our subject of a paternal 
guide, but a devoted mother supi>!ied the |)lace of 
the departed parent, and young William grew to 
inauliood under her gentle supervision. He re- 
ceived his education in New Preston and Wash- 
ington City, but always made his home in the 
former place while pursuing his studies. In 1.S80, 
Mr. Wooster came to Litchfield, where he lirst, en- 
gaged as clerk in a I'lothing store; butabilit\' such as 
he possessed could not beconllued to work like this 



and he soon entered the ein|)loy of the Rig Four 
Railroad. As he was unfamiliar with the wcirk. 
he was obliged to begin with an inferior position, 
but during the last four years of the nine he was 
in their employ he was their agent. 

About that time, Mr. Wooster found a favorable 
opportunity to eng.age in the tile business and ac- 
cordingly entered it, but as he did not realize his 
anticipations he witlnbew after six months. Next 
he formed a partnership with Capt. Ivirby, which 
continued until 188!), when he withdi-ew and en- 
tered the employ of the Wabash Railroad, where 
he continued for six or eight months. His next 
enterprise was the conducting of a furniture busi- 
nes.s with .lesse Mcllenry as partner for one year, 
when Mr. Wooster bought Mr. McIIenry's interest 
and continued the luisiness alone for one year. In 
18',)2, the Litchlielil Furniture, Hardware A' Imple- 
ment Company was incorpoi-ated with Mr. Woos- 
ter .as President and Manager, and he withdrew 
from the furniture business to accept the respon- 
sibilities of his new jiosition. This corpoiation has 
a capital stock of *12,lill<t, and in addition to hard- 
ware and farm im|)lemeiils the firm deals in furni- 
ture and (jueensware and carries on an undertakino- 
estalilishnient. They occupy a substantial buildin"- 
two stories high, and liave the largest i-etail store, 
not only in tlie city, but in this part of the coiint\-. 
'J'he stock is new and comiilete and the firm gives 
emphnnient to twelve men. 

.lune 12, 1883, Mr. Wooster married Miss Mary, 
daughter of William Fisher, a prominent, citizen of 
Liti'htield. Three children have been added to 
their family, namely: Lawrence F'isher, (^race 
Kirby and Russell Hill. Mr. Wooster is an earnest 
memlier of the Presb\teriaii Church, while his 
wife is equally devoted to the I!a[)tist denomina- 
tion. Our subject is very iirominent in Litchfield 
Lodge No. 517, F. A' A. M.,ancl has flic honor 
of being its Past Master. No one in Litchfield 
has been more successful in so short a period of 
time, with no assistance from any ()ne, than has 
Mr. Wooster. He never allowed anything to dis- 
courage him, but |)ersevered until he has attained 
the proud position of I'rcsidcnt and M;niager of 
the leading retail lious<' in tliis section of the 
country. His is certainly an example to emulate. 



262 



I'ORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



^, ARRELT BRUNKEN. Many of the fertile 

III I—, spots in oui- great Republic liave been col- 
^^jl onized by worthy representatives of the 
German nation, and these places invariably show 
that tlie Teutonic element is an excellent one to 
be infused in a locality. Thrift, oi'der, commend- 
able econony and intelligence are seen in all their 
work. Nokomis Township, Montgomery County, 
is an admirably farmed district, as a result of its 
German residents, and our siiliject is one of tliem. He 
was born in Ostfriesland, Hanover, Gerniany,,luly 
14, 183!t, and is a son of Frederick and (iebke 
(Landmann) Brunken, who were also natives of 
that part of Germany. The former devoted him- 
self to the cultivation of the soil and was pro- 
ficient in all the methods of the German farmer. 
On his well-cultivated tract our subject grew to 
manhood, alternating farm duties and school work, 
his development being well balanced between the 
theoretical and practical. 

After attaining to man's estate, Mr. Brunken 
followed the calling of a fanner in his native land 
until 18()8, when he and his parents came to .Amer- 
ica, drawn hither perhaps by the glowing accounts 
sent them of the conditions of the country by two 
brothers who had preceded them hither, Eillert 
in 1855 and Brunky in 1859. The former died 
many years ago, and the latter, after an honorable 
service in the Union army, lasting for thi-ee years, 
is now in the Soldiers' Home at Quincy, this State. 
Another brother, Frederick Brunken, is a prosper- 
ous farmer in Christian County. 

iMjr two months after the advent of the Brunken 
family in America, they stayed in Madison County, 
this State, and then came to Montgomery County, 
locating upon tiie farm where our subject has ever 
since lived. Here his mother departed this life in 
1870 and tlie father in 188.5. Oursubjcct has been 
very prosperous since coming to the States and 
lias one of the finest and best cultivated farms in 
Nokomis Township. It comprises one hundred 
and sixty acres and bears good improvements. 

May 10, 187."?, our subject married ]\Iiss Annie 
Wattyes, also u native of Germany, and they have 
since traveled together over life's pathw.ay most 
harmoniously, althougii tlieir ex|>erience has not 
been without its pain, as in every human lot. Of 



six bright children born to them they have lost 
two. Those surviving are: Henry, a hid of thir- 
teen years; Lena, a girl of eleven; Annie, a child 
of eight years; and Freddie, the 30ungest of 
the family. Mr. and ]Mrs. Brunken are members 
of the Lutheran Church, in which the former is a 
Deacon. In his fanning operations, our subject 
has directed his attention to tiiat very profitable 
line, stock-raising, and has done much in encourag- 
ing the raising of finer breeds. The county in 
which he lives counts him as one of her progres- 
sive citizens, of whom she may well be proud. In 
his political preference, he is a decided Republican. 



!)EORGE LYMAN, a Union soldier in the 
Civil War, and a prominent citizen now 
^^^iAl residing in Bois D'Arc Township, Mont- 
gomery Count}', was born in Orange County, Vt., 
Februaiy 18, 1832. For many jears he has been 
identified with the interests of Montgomery County, 
and ranks as a noticeable illustration of tliat in- 
domitalile [jiisli and eneigy which characterize 
men of will and determination Ever since his loca- 
tion within the borders of the county, he has 
been engaged in tilling the .soil, and has enjoyed 
the reputation of being an intelligent and thor- 
oughly-posted man on all the current topics of 
the day. His scholastic training was received in 
the common schools of his native county, and, as 
is the case with so many of our American young 
men, his advantages in that direction were pieced 
out by observation and assimilation. He is a well- 
posted man who has read extensively. 

Mr. Lyman's parents, Abel aud Esther (Bigelow) 
layman, were natives of New England, of English 
descent, and botli were born in the Green Moun- 
tain State. Our subject comes of Revolutionary 
stock, some of his forefathers having participated 
in that struggle. The original of this notice iit- 
taincd his growth in Vermont, and at an early age 
became familiar with the duties necessary to carry 
on a farm. Led by the promises of the prairies of 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



2G5 



Illinois, lie tmnod his face towards the setting sun, 
and in the .year 1856 reached Illinois. For some 
time he resided in .Sangamon County, hut finally 
decided to move to Montgomery County, where he 
has made liis home ever since. He located on his 
present farm in Bois I)' Arc 'rovviishi(), then all 
new prairie land, and finding tlie soil rich and pro- 
ductive, he soon realized large returns for his in- 
dustry. To improve an<l cultivate his land re- 
quired years of hard hilior, but his toil has been 
rewarded, and he now has one of the best-im- 
proved jilaces of his locality. 

He owns one iuindred and sixty acres of land, 
and during the jears that have passed, he has 
added greatly to its value in the imi>rovements 
that he has placed u|)on it. He is an intelligent 
gentleman, of superior mental attainments, who 
seeks to develrip himself as well as his agricultural 
interests in the best and broadest direction. On 
the 5th of February, 18(i8, he married ]Miss Min- 
erva .T. Collins, a native of Franklin County, ()hio, 
born August 1 1, 18.'.!ll, the dangliter of Isaac and 
Emma (Whitehurst) Collins, both natives of Penn- 
sylvania. She came with lier parents to Sangamon 
County, III., when seventeen years of age, and 
tlicre both her father and nuither received their 
final summons. Jlr. and Mrs. Lyman's union re- | 
suited in the birth of four children: Eva, .lohn A., 
Esther B. and Lewis T. Mrs. Lyman has three 
brothers: .lehu, .lohn and Isaac. 

Mr. Lyraan served two years as Highway Com- 
missioner C)f Bois ])' Arc Township, and has held 
other local positions, filling all in an able and satis- 
factory mannei'. He takes an interest in all land- 
able enterprises, and is |iublic-spnited and pro- 
gressive. During the late unpleasantness between 
the North and .South, he fought bravely for the 
Union, and was ever at the |)ost. of duty. He en- 
listed August 11, 1K()1, in ('(impany I), Thirty- 
third Illinois Infantry, and |)articipated in the liat- 
tles of Vicksburg, .lackson and Champion IJill. He 
also operated in the Lone Stai' State, and was hon- 
orably disi-liai'ged in Octuber, I8(!Land now re- 
ceives a pension of $(> per month. Returning to 
l!liuoi>. he has resided in this county since. In 
1 polilu's, he is a Kepnblicrm, voting as he fought, 
I and takes a decided interest in the success of his 

12 



party. His wife is a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal C hurch, and both are esteemed members 
of society. 






^'OIIN P. FULLKR. Among the well-known 
and influential citizens of Fillmore Town- 
j shii), JMontgomery County, is the gentleman 
^\i»/ whose name introduces these paragraphs, 
and who is a successful farmer, using the best 
methods of fertilizing the soil and improving the 
land. He came from the P>ucke\e State, which 
has contriliuted so much of ])optdati(ni and intel- 
ligence to Illinois, and from a pai-entage marke<l 
by strength of character and largeness of nature. 
P,oru in Clarke County, Ohio, iNIarch 23, 1823, he 
lielong.s to one of the prominent families of \'ir- 
ginia, his parents, Closes and Elizabeth (Priteman) 
Fuller, lieing natives of that grand old State. 
They were married in A'irginia, and afterward 
moved directly to Clarke County, Ohio, wlu're 
they were among the earliest settlei's. The father 
improved three good farms in the county and there 
remained until 1.S40, when he thought to better 
his condition by settling in Montgomery County, 
III. 

Bloses Fuller located in F.ast Fork Township 
and tliere passed a long and useful life, living to 
be ninety-four years of age. The mother was 
al)ont eiglity years of age when she died. They 
were the parents of eight children, seven daugh- 
ters and a son, three of the daughters now living. 
Our subject was in his eighteenth year when he 
came to Montgomery County, and nearly all his 
scluMiling was received in his native State. He as- 
sisted his father in cultivating the farm and re- 
mained under tlic parental roof until twenty-five 
years of age. Then, on the 13th of .Iiily, 18 IS, he 
married Miss jNIary •]. (ireer, a native of the liiue 
Orass State, but who was quite small when slie 
came with lier p.'irents t,o IlliiHiis. 

The sMine year of his marriage onr subject set- 
tled in a log house, 18x24 feet, <jn the place where 



266 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIHCAL RECORD. 



he now resides. Many years has he passed in im- 
proving and cultivating tliis farm, and success has 
attended his efforts, for he now owns one of the 
most productive farms in tiie township. He is 
thoroughly familiar with all the details of farm 
life, is progressive and enterprising, and all Ills 
operations are conducted in a manner showing 
him to be a man of good judgment and sound 
sense. As the years passed by there clustered 
around his hearthstone eleven children, three of 
whom died in infancy. The others are in 
the order of their births as follows: Sarah E., 
wife of Dr. Mabry, of Iowa; Rilda C, the widow 
of William .\. Snyder, of Fayette County, 111.; 
Clara, Mis. William Looney, of East Fork Town- 
sliip; Mary S., wife of Price Davis, of East St. 
Louis; Laura K., at home; William M., Shelby G. 
and .John E., all of whom were born in Mont- 
gomei'i' County. 

Our suliject has one hundred and sixty acres of 
good land, and in (connection with agricultural 
pursuits he m.anaged a sawmill in East Fork Town- 
ship for ten years. He has ever been industrious 
and enterprising and attributes his success to his 
industry and perseverance. In his political views, 
he is attached to the Republican part}' and is an 
earnest advocate of its distinctive principles. He 
has held membership in the Methodist Church for 
thirty-five years and has filled all the offices in the 
church, having served as Clas.s-leader and Super- 
intendent of the Sunday-school during almost the 
entire length of period of his membership. He 
takes much interest in all worthy enterprises and 
they are never allowed to drag for want of sup- 
port on his part. 



Ip^ VAN OGAN. Among the many [jromincnt 
merchants of the busy town of Sorenlo, the 
'^1 gentleman whose name appears above is 
numbered among the most energetic and amliitious. 
He i^ a hardware merchant and carries a large and 



complete stock of goods. Mr. Ogan was born 
near Cumberland, in Guernsey County, Ohio, Au- 
gust 1, 1849, and was the eldest of the family of 
ten children born to Lee and Tameron (Bay) Ogan. 
Lee Ogan was born near Cumberland and was the 
eldest in a family of seven children. His father, 
Lee Ogan, Sr., together with two brothers, came 
from Scotland. The brothers settled in Tennessee 
and Lee in Ohio, where he died in 1872, at an ad- 
vanced age. 

The father of our subject was a farmer by occu- 
pation, while one of his brothers, Peter, is a prom- 
inent Baptist preacher. Of the ten children of 
whom our subject w.as the eldest, there are now 
living seven, as follows: Margaret, Angeline, Will- 
iam .Jas|)er, Nancy .J., Melinda and Lucinda, be- 
side our subject. The eldest sister is now the 
wife of John West and resides on a farm near the 
old homestead in Ohio. Angeline is the wife of 
Henry Walker, of St. Louis, while William is a 
farmer in Missouri, near Springfield. Nancy is 
now Mrs. .John Wise, and her husband is a farmer 
near Springfield, Mo. Melinda is the wife of a 
Mr. Spratt, and Lucinda is living in single blessed- 
ness in Kansas. 

Evan Ogan grew up as most farmer boys do, 
his duties at home interspersed with school and 
merry-making. He received a fair education and, 
equipped for the serious business of life, when 
twenty years of age, or in 1860, he started out 
to make fame and fortune in tlie West. He 
spent about a year in Louisiana, IMo., and finally 
settled in St. Louis, where he was engaged in the 
liumpand machinery business. He remained there 
until 187.5 and then located at Greenville, Bond 
County, where he was engaged in selling farm im- 
plements. He was thus occupied until 1883, when 
he came to Sorento and entered the employ of 
Cress Bros., for whom he worked one year and 
then launched into the general hardware busi- 
ness on his own .account, and since that time has 
built up a largo and cimstantly increasing busi- 
ness. 

In 18!)1, Mr. Ogan Iniilt the large two-story 
block where ho is now located. 11 is quite impos- 
ing in size and style of architecture and is alto- 
gether a handsome piece of jjroperty. Our subject 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 



267 



has been a RepnT)liean durini;- all his voting years. 
He w.as a member of the Town r.oard of Sorento 
when the town was incoriiorated and is at present 
serving as Tax Collector. ]n his social connections, 
the original of this sketch is a Knight of Pythias 
and is, moreover, a mendier of tlie United Wood- 
men and also of the Ancient l"'ree and Acce|)ted 
Masons, holiling membership witii iNIadisoii Lodge 
No. •'iCO, New Douglas. 

In 1871, our snbject's parents removed to South- 
western ISIissouri and there the motlier died about 
1881. The father is still living at the old home in 
Ohio and h.as reached a patriarchal age. In 187.5, 
Mr. Ogan was united in marriage with Miss Sophia 
C., a daughter f)f Col. I5enjaniin .lohnson, a (irom- 
inent citizen of Missouri, who was one of the parties 
that opened up the iron mines at Pilot Knob, that 
State. Mrs. Ogan is a lady of marked culture and 
intelligence. She is a graduate of a St. Louis 
school and was for some years a teacher. Their 
two children are named Albert Lee and \Villiam 
P>van. 




EORGK BRAKKNIIOFF, a prominent and 
wealthy tierman-Anierican farmer of No- 
komis Towiishii), Montgomery County, III., 
was born in Ostfriesland. Hanover, (;ermany,.Tanu- 
ary 3, 1834, one of a family of lune children, eight 
of whom are living at tlie present time. Two sis- 
ters still reside in the Fatherland, and another sis- 
ter is the wife of Henry Carsten, a leading citizen 
of Nokomis Township. Of the tive brothers, four 
are living in Nokomis Township: (ieorge, Henry, 
Killert ;uid Harmon. The other brother lives in 
Terre Haute. lud. The father of these children, 
Killert IhakenhotT. was an agricultiu-ist of con- 
siderable note in hi.s native land, and died there 
many years ago. He was a man of worth, and as 
such uas regarded by those who had tlic limior of 
his ac(]uaintiincc, and who knew him intimalclv. 
George Brakenhoff received a fair (.'ducation in 



liis youth, and was reared to the healthful, though 
somewhat monotonous, i)ursnit of farming, his in- 
struction in this branch of business being received 
at the hands of his father, who thoroughly under- 
stood evei-y detail of the calling. This life became 
somewhat distasteful to him after a time, and lie 
left the plow to become a sailor, running princi 
paily on inland boats, but in 1857 he gave up this 
occupation also to come ti> America to seek his for- 
tune, his brother Henry having come to this country 
some years befoie. He located at Mt. Olive, 111., 
where the calling of an agriculturist received his 
attention until 18(;8, when Montgomery County 
became his home, and on a farm in Nokomis 
Townshiii he has resided ever since. In addition 
to his lirst inirchase of land, whii'li was ratliei- 
modest in extent, he has made other i)nrcliases 
from time to time, until at the present time lie is 
the owner of as fine a tract of land as one need 
wish to see, comprising two hundred acres well 
tilled and neatly keiit. In all of his investments, 
lie has shown the test of judgment, and has so 
conducted his affairs that naught has ever lieen 
said derogatory to his honor as a business man. 
Since opening up his farm, he li.as accumulated a 
goodly fortune, wdiich he manages with great 
judgment and keen foresight. Like all men of 
his nativity, he is progressive in his views and of 
an energetic temperament, and all of his fipera- 
tions have been carried on according to the most 
advanced ideas, and have consetpiently resulted 
to his own good and the benellt of those with 
whom he has come in contact. He has long since 
gained the reputation tif being one of tlic foremost 
tillers of the soil, and he has been a leader in the 
use of new and improved machinery for the sa\ing 
of labor. 

In l!S;')8, he married Miss Triiita Akebaner, who 
was liorn on (icrman soil, and their union has re- 
sulted in the birth of a family of ten children: 
Killert, who is now managing his father's farm; 
.\iiiiie, who is the wife of Altman Brakenhoff, a 
cousin; (ierhart married Nevada Travis, and is a 
merchant in Nokomis; Foska, who became the wife 
of Andrew I'eriboiie. and resides at iowaton, Iowa; 
Maggie, the wife of .Icihn 'i'heeii,a farmer of Mont- 
gomery County; Theressaand Henry, whoare liv- 



268 



PORTRAIT AND BIOOUAPHICAL RECORD. 



ing at home; Jolin JNI.; Katie and Robert. All 
these children liave had liberal education.al ad- 
vantages given them, improved them, and are now 
substantial citizens of the country-, an honor to 
tliemselves and to the parents wlio reared tliem. 
Mv. IJrakenliotT is a strong Republican in his politi- 
cal views, but lias never held any office except 
some small township office, such as being a mem- 
ber of the Board of Education of his district. 
In 1880, he made a trip to liis native l.nnd to see liis 
mother, who was tlien living, but wlio has since 
died. 



_w<ai' 



M>^-<m^ 



'^tS), 



■llOSEPII T. ALEXANDER. The undertak- 
ing business is of the utmost importance to 
society, and every consideration suggests 
that Its representatives shall be reliable, 
s\-mpathetic and experienced. This vocation is 
essentially a very delicate* one, and it involves 
for its successful prosecution peculiarly' important 
qualifications, which but comparatively few indi- 
viduals possess. It is only by long experience 
and natural aptitude that a man is able to dis- 
charge his duty in this relation to the entire and 
unqualified satisfaction of those most directly in- 
terested. Among the prominent business men of 
Eillmore, Jlontgomery County, 111., stands .losei^h 
T. Alexander, who, in connection with his under- 
taking business, i?. (juite extensively eng.aged in 
dealing in furniture. 

Our subject was born in Eillmore Township, 
Montgomery County, this State, ,Sei)tember 17, 
1834, and is a son of Richard Alexander, and the 
grandson of Joseph Alexander, who is sujiposed 
to have been born in America, but wliose father 
was born in Ireland. Richard Alexander was born 
in 1810, in Tennessee, and tliere ])assed his boy- 
hood and youth. He came to Montgomery 
County, 111., when a young man, and lure married 
;\Iiss Sarah Wliitten, a native of Kentucky, who 
came to Montgomery County ;ifler reaching 
womanhood. Iler fallier, E.oston Whitten, was a 



native of the Palmetto State, and an early settler 
of Montgomery County, 111. 

After marriage, Mr. and JSIrs. Alexander located 
in wliat is now Fillmore Township, and took up 
land during Martin Van lUiren's administration. 
The^' made man}' improvements on this place, and 
resided on the same the remainder of their days. 
The father died May 12, 1874, and the mother, 
who was born in 1813, died December 19, 1853. 
They were the parents of six children, four sons 
and two daughters, three sons and one daughter 
living, as follows: Joseph T., oursubject; Samuel, 
of Fillmore Township; Henry, of Minneapolis, 
Minn.; and P^lizabeth, wife of John Hill, of Fill- 
more Township. Our subject, the eldest child, 
was reared in his native place, and attended school 
in a little log schoolhouse with all the rude con- 
trivances of pioneer d.ays, having stick and mud 
chimney, puncheon floor, puncheon seals, and slabs 
for desks. All his clothing was home-made, and 
his parents tanned the leather for his boots and 
shoes. His early life was one of privation and 
hardship, and he was early initialed into the du- 
ties of the farm. 

Oiir subject worked out one month during his 
life, and afterward was in a general store for 
one year. Until twenty-five \-ears of age he re- 
mained with his father, with the exception of the 
time he taught school during the winter months, 
the summer season- being devoted to farm work. 
On May 3, 1859, he married Miss Irene AVright, a 
native of Fayette County, 111., and the daughter 
of Joseph Wright, and after this union he and his 
young wife .settled on section 2, Fillmore Town- 
ship, on a piece of raw land, and in a log house, 
18x24 feet. On this farm he remained until 1875, 
when he bought the old homestead on section 1, 
and there continued to make his home until the 
spring of 1889, when he came to Fillmore and 
embarked in his present business. To his marriage 
were born two daughters and two sons: Evelyn 
C, wife of H. L. Prater, of Sumner County, Kan., 
who is engaged in the grocery business; Easton 
W.; Sarah R., wife of T. II. Lane, a meichantof 
Fillmore; and Homer L., at home. Mr. Alexander 
is a Democrat in politics, and was Assessor of the 
townshi|>in 1877. lie was also Highway Com- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



269 



missioncr for six years, Township Treasurer for 

lAvcnlv-lliroo 3ears, and lias licld otlier townsliip 
(ittices. He is a nieniher of tlie JMasonic frater- 
nity, Fillmore Lodge No. 670. Jlr. Alexander is 
one of the eounty's most i)roniinent and popular 
business men, and has met with substantial results 
i n all his enterprises. 



■ UJ ^f l , 1,1 ,1 



/ ^^^*^r^*.« ■■»* 



^1^ ^ ARM KEISER, who resides on section 7, 

^' Walshville Township, is one of the most 
jirominent farmers of the eommiinity, and 
one of the county's valuable citizens. A 
native of Germany, he was born in Ostfriesland, 
Hanover, October 8, 1839, and Is the eldest of five 
children whose parents were John and Gesehe 
Keiser. Ilis graiiilfather. Harm Reiser, came to 
America in 1850, and located in Bladison County, 
111., where he died September 23, 1869, at an ad- 
vanced age. In 1854, the parents of our subject, 
with four sons and a daughter, came to America 
and sought a home on the wild prairies of the 
Mississi|)pi Valley. The father purchased a tract 
of land in Macoupin County, but before lie had 
paid for it, he died, in 1855, leaving his widow 
with a family to support and a heavy debt upon 
the home. 

Harm, being the eldest eliild, set to work with 
his brothers and mother to clear the home of debt, 
and this was in due time accomplished. JMrs. 
Keiser lived to enjoy the home which was thus 
preserved to her by the loving care of her sons, 
and saw all of her children occupying comfortable 
homes and respectable positions in society before 
she at length passed away, in 1890, at a ripe old 
age. J^er two sons, C. .1. and Andrew, are tlie 
wealthy bankers, millers and merchants of Mt. 
Olive. .John, the other brother, operates the old 
homestead. Annie is the wife of Frank l'range,of 
Walshville Township. 

The eldest of the family, our subject, after the 
motiier was provided for, purchased eighty acres 
of land for himself in 1862, which formed the 



nucleus of his present extensive possessions. Farm- 
ing has been his cliief occiqiation, and he now 
owns eight liiiiidred acres of valuable land, whi(tli 
yield him a golden tribute He li.as also been in- 
terested with his brothers in coal-mining, and for 
tw^o years was Superintendent of the mines at Mt. 
Olive. Under his able management these became 
a great financial success. Mr. Keiser brings to all 
his business undertakings keen judgment, sagacity, 
enterprise and energy, qualities which are essen- 
tial to a prosperous career, and which iiave won 
him his extended estate. 

On the nth of .July, 1863, Mr. Keiser wedded 
Miss Jlary Focken, a native of Germany, who 
came with her parents to America in 1855, and 
was reared in JNIadison County, 111. Two sons 
and three daughters grace their union: Annie is 
now the w^ife of Fiank Weidued, of D<ucliester; 
Henry married Kathrina Walters, of Sedalia, Mo.; 
Hannah, Lydia and Albert are still under the 
parental roof. Henry was graduated from the 
Central Wesley College, of W;irrenton, Mo., in 1 8110 
and now aids his father in the management of his 
property. 

In politics, Mr. Keiser is a stalwart Republican. 
In 1879-80, he served as a member of the County 
Board of Supervisors. He then refused re-elec- 
tion, but again, in 1887, was placed in that otlice, 
which he li.as tilled contiiuiously since witli credit 
to himself and to the satisfaction of his constitu- 
ents. Ilis long-continued service indicates his 
great personal popularity as well as the eflicient 
manner in which he discharges his public duties. 
Ilis life has been a busy and useful one, and his 
honoralile, upright career li.as won him universal 
confidence. 









, ETER ]MOC)S for many years was a suc- 
Jj] cessful and prtnninent tiller of the soil, 
^ but is now ri'lired from llie active duties 
of life, and is in tlie enjoyment of a com- 
petency which his own excellent business qualities 



270 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and good judgment won him. He was born on 
the extreme norlhern coast of Germany, Septem- 
ber 27, 1832, his jiarents being Peter and Doratio 
Moos, also natives of that part of the Fatherland, 
where they were highly respected. The father was 
a coppersmith and the owner of a large copper 
mill, where he manufactured copper plate for use 
in the construction of the ships that were built on 
that coast. The subject of this sketch was or- 
phaned by the death of his father when he was a 
bo3' of some twelve or thirteen years. Prior to 
that event he had been in school, but afterward 
he was obliged to commence the battle of life on 
his own responsibility, and he at once entered a 
sawmill for the purpose of learning the trade. 
There he continued to remain until he had at- 
tained his twent3'-fifth year, or until 1852, dur- 
ing which time he acquired a most thorough and 
practical knowledge of the calling. 

Our subject then determined to seek a home 
under the shelter of the Stars and Stripes, and 
after landing upon American shores, he imme- 
diately' proceeded to Lincoln, 111., where his 
brother, Christ Moos, was living. The latter had 
come to this country some eight 3'ears previous; 
he died a few years since in Lincoln. Another 
brother, John, came to America with him, and is 
now the well-known proprietor of a machine shop 
at Lincoln. For some time after his arrival in 
this countr}', Peter Moos experienced some very 
hard times, but, true to his nature, he continued to 
persevere, and although for the first two years he 
labored on a farm, receiving only $150 per annum 
for his services, he, with tiie usual thriftiness of 
his race, contrived to save some money, with which 
he rented land in Logan County, and began tilling 
the soil. There he remained until 1867, when he 
came to Montgomery County and inirchased 
eighty acres of land in Nokomis Township, after 
which he worked at farming, carpentering or any- 
thing he could find to do in order to pay for his 
property. From time to time he made other pur- 
chases of land, as his judgment directed, and is 
now the owner of two hundred and forty acres of 
excellent and fertile farming land in a high state 
of cultivation. 

It is said of Mr. Moos that he built the ma- 



jority of the buildings in the German settlement 
in which lie lived for so long, and the structures 
which he has put up are characterized by dura- 
bility and the substantial manner in which they 
have been erected. About 1890 he decided to lo- 
cate in the city of Nokomis, for the purpose of 
following his trade, and since that time has been 
successfully employed as a contractor and builder, 
renting his large farm. In addition to the farm he 
owns some fine property in Nokomis. His pros- 
perity dates from the time he located in Montgom- 
ery County, throughout which he is well known 
and highly I'espected. 

Mr. Moos was married at Lincoln, 111., in 1857, 
to Miss Christina Nisen, a native of the same part 
of Germany as that from which he came, and to 
them six children have been born: Jesse, the eld- 
est, is a carpenter in Nokomis; Mary is the wife 
of Green Taylor, a sou of George Taylor, the 
Vice-president of the Nokomis National Bank, and 
resides on one of her father's (arms; Peter is mar- 
ried and lives on the home farm; William is a car- 
penter and builder of Nokomis; Rena married 
Dick Frerccks, who is in business in Nokomis; and 
Eddie lives on the farm. Mr. Moos is a Demo- 
crat, but is not active in politics, and upon being 
elected to the position of Justice of the I'eace at 
one time refused to serve. He and his wife are 
exemplar\' nieuibers of the (German Lutheran 
Church. 



•!r=^^r^==-ir 



Sr=T-'RED C. B.\RNP:TT is a prominent resident 
L^> of the thriving city of Litchfield, 111., 
_l and is the President of the Western Grain 

Company, which has its principal office at this 
place. George W. Barnett, the father of our sub- 
ject, was a native of Kentucky, and came to 
Macoupin County at an early date and bought 
land there, paying $2.25 per acre, which land 
now commands $()0 an .acre. His purch.ase was 
of nine hundred .acres, and he put it all under 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RP:CORD. 



271 



cultivatinii. lull when the raih'oad crossed the 
place 1r' marked out a U.iwn, and a pust-offlce was 
estal)lished here. After this he engaged in busi- 
ness in the town, and with our subject carried on 
a general store and alsu dealt in lumber, grain 
and coal. 

Fred ('. liarnett was born in C'arlinville, 111., 
•luly 2H, I.sn.j, and is the son of George W. and 
Fraiices ( I'oley) Harnett, lie was well educated, 
having taken a full course at the Illinois College 
at Jacksonville, 111., and graduated there in the 
Class of '86. He immediately went into business 
with his father in dealing in lumber and grain, 
and the firm operated under the name of G. W. 
Harnett A' .Son, their (ilace of Inisiness being in 
the village of IJai-nelt, which place G. W. Barnett 
had founded, as above stated, and which is lo- 
cated on the ,1. * .S. E. and L. C. & W. R. R. He 
lemained with his father until March, 1891, when 
he came to this town and established the Fred C. 
ISarnett (irain (,'om|iany. He did a laige track-buy- 
ing business, and handled large quan titles of grain 
and thousands of cars, lie devoted his time to 
the enterprise and made it a great business. 

^Ir. Harnett has other interests, as he is a stock- 
lK)lder in the Threshing Machine Conip.'uiy, in 
the Litchlield Paint & Color Company, the Oil 
Cit\' Huilding & Saving Society, and the Litch- 
field Homestead A Loan Association, the North 
& South Chicago, and also the St. Louis Safety 
& Homestead Association, of P^ast St. Louis. 
Socially, Mr. I'.arnett belongs to Charter Oak 
Lodge, A. F. A: A. M., and to St. Onier Com- 
niandery, and holds the position of Junior Warden 
in the lodge and that of Warden in the com- 
m;indery. The present company with which Mr. 
ISarnett is connected is doing business under the 
name of the Western (irain Company and is a 
late consolidation of the Fred C. Larnelt (iraiu 
Company with that of the .Munday Hios., and the 
capital slock is 81;") ,000. The business is that of 
brokerage and general grain dealing. They have 
a wide experience and manage a large territory. 

Our subject is a popular man in his neighbor- 
hood, and this was illustrated when he, a strong 
Kepublican, was elected Supervisor in a Demo- 
cratic district. He served to the satisfaction of 



all concerned, but his commercial engagements are 
of such a nature that he would seem to hare little 
time to spend in political affairs. His religious 
connection is with the Christian Church. The fa- 
ther and mother of our suliject are still living 
and, no doubt, look with pleasure on the thriving 
little village of liarnett, which has literally siirung 
up under their own eyes. Our subject was tlie 
llrst Postin.aster of the place. The railrcjad h.as 
assisted the town in its growth, and the location 
of it reflects credit on the judgment of George 
W. liarnett. 



U II. WITT. The State which Charles Eg- 

)) bert Craddock has imnnutalized in her 

beautiful stories of mountain life, is the 



native State of our subject. He was born in Jef- 
ferson County, Tenn., November 24, 18.'i4, and is 
a son of James S. and Susan (Carmikel) Witt. His 
parents were also both natives of that State. 
When our suliject was a child of but three years of 
age, the family determined to come to Illinois, be- 
lieving it to i)Ossess greater advantages in an agri- 
cultural line than their own native .State. 

On coming to Illinois, the Witt family settled 
in (4reene County first, and that continued to lie 
the family home until our subject was eighteen 
years of age. In the meantime, his mother had 
been taken away by death when he was a lad o{ 
thirteen. In 1852, in company with his father, he 
moved to Macoupin County, and there lived until 
1875, in which year he determined to come to 
Montgomery County. As a lioy his knowledge of 
life was mostly that obtained from his rural asso- 
ciations, and altlu.iugh the prairies were wide and 
tlie climate lacked nothing in (piality or (piantit\', 
still the lad could not be expected to assimilate 
from these advantages alone any great knowledge 
of higher educational branches. As mucli learn- 
ing as the average boy of his day possessed was 
instilled in the youthful miioi in the district 



272 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



schools of his hiciilitr. or nither in tlie .subscri|)- 
tion schools, for tlie district schools had not then 
been organized whore he lived. 

December 16, 1858, a marriage was celebrated in 
Madison County, of which our subject and Miss 
Martha .1. Deck were the principals. She was a 
suitable and capable companion for Mi-. Witt, and 
seconded his efforts in every way siie could. The 
following children were the fruit of this union: 
Warren E., w'ho is a graduate of Blackburn Uni- 
versit3'; Austin E., .John W., Olive .T., Irene, 
Annie and Ida, ail of whom are bright .young peo- 
ple with good prospects of life before them. 

Mr. AVitt settled on his present farm perma- 
nently in the j-ear 187;"), and has ever since 
made it his home. lie owns two hundred and 
thirty-thiee and one-half acres of land, a well- 
cultivated and arable tract, which bears evidence 
of the close attention given it by its owner. Mr. 
Witt has twice been honored with the election to 
the oHice of Supervisor of llarvel Township. He 
is a man of decided views of his own in regard to 
most of the things of life, and in his political af- 
filiation, he is a Democrat, and is ready to do any- 
thing he can for the support of his part}'. 



^^ 




\T^^ R. W. II. COOK. In a comprehensive 
work of this kind, dealing with industrial 
pursuits, sciences, arts and professions, it 
is only lit and right that the medical 
profession should be noticed. Dr. W. II. Cook, 
whose skill in the healing art is well known, 
not only throughout East Fork Township, but also 
throughout ^lontgomer}' Count}-, was born in 
Sh(!lby Count}', Ky., on the 27th of March, 1834, 
and his father, Fielding B. Cook, was also a native 
of that county, but came of a prominent Virginia 
family. The grandfather, James Cook, was born 
near Richmond, Va. The mother of our subject, 
wliose maiden name was Meekee Roseliery, was born 
in Shelby County, Ky., where she passed her en- 
tire life. Her father, Charles Kbsebery, was born 



in Berkeley County, Ya., and was a son of Hugh 
Rosebery, a Highland Scotchman, who was in the 
Revolutionary War and who lived to be one hun- 
dred and fifteen years old. All were long-lived 
people on the mother's side. Our subject's grand- 
mother on his mother's side, Nancy Thurston, was 
a native of Virginia, but was brought to Kentucky 
when twelve years of age. Her father, Ezekiel 
Thurston, was also a native of the Old Dominion. 

Tlie parents of our subject were married in 
Shelby Count}', Ky., in 1832, and afterward lo- 
cated on a farm in the same jilace. There Mrs. Cook 
died in 1836, when our subject was two years old. 
Two children were born of this union, but the 
younger died. The father's second marriage was 
to Miss Susan McDonald, who bore him six chil- 
dren, five sons and one daughter. Our subject, 
the only child living of the first marriage, received 
his early schooling in the subscription schools of 
his native county, and was thirteen years of age 
when his father died. He remained with his step- 
mother until eighteen years of age, and after reach- 
ing his nineteenth year came to Putnam County, 
Ind., where he taught school and clerked in a store 
for some time. 

In 1856, he commenced the study of medicine 
with Dr. R. B. Denny, of Fillmore, Ind., and con- 
tinued with him for about two years. During that 
time he ran a drug store, and in the spring of 1861 
he located in JMontgoniery County, 111., where he 
now resides. In 1867 he graduated from the St. 
Louis Medical College, and since then has been 
actively engaged in practicing his profession here. 
He has gained a wide reputation for what he has 
accomplished, especially in difficult cases, as he has 
carried through to success some cases which are 
considered almost miraculous. The Doctor is a 
member of the Montgomery County Medical Soci- 
ety, the District Medical Society of Central Illi- 
nois, and the Illinois Stale Medical Society. He 
is a member of Lodge No. 51, A. F. & A. M., of 
IliUsboro, and has been a member of tiie order since 
the year 1856. He is a stanch supporter of Dem- 
ocratic princii)lcs, was twice County Coroner, and 
once Su|)ervisor of East Fork Township. 

His marriage with Miss Elizabeth F. Robinson, 
a native of Putnam County, Ind., occurred in 1856, 




>^cf^^- 



PORTRAIT AND lilOGRAPHlCAL RECORD. 



and four cliildrt^ii were given them. One died in 
infancy, and the otlier three are: diaries K., a na- 
tive of Fillmore, Ind., now a indiiiinent laivyer 
of tirecnville, Bond C'onnty, 111.; Ella , I., wife of 
Joseph .1. Wright, of Moiitgoniery County, 111.; 
and Melx'ille 'I'., a student t)f I)e Tauw Ihiiver- 
sitw at l)e I'auw. Ind. 



[]MBKKT II. DENNY. Our subject is one of 
I I the older inhabitants of Bond County, of 
ill which he is a native. lie was born January 
11, 1835, upon the farm in Shoal Creek Town- 
ship where he now lives and where he carries on 
an extensive business in general fjirining and 
stock-raising. He is a son of Robert Wilson and 
Eleani>r (Finley) Denny. Grandfather Denny 
was an Irishman b^' birth and when quite young 
came to America, settling in North Carolina, where 
Robert AVilsou Denny was born. ' 

Our subject's mother was of Welsh ancestrj', 
her father having emigrated from Wales and 
settled in Tennessee, but the exact time of their 
coming to this country or even the date of her liirth 
is not known to us. In 1820 our subject's father 
and grandfather came to Illinois, the lialance of 
the family coming hither in 1828. They first 
settled on the farm where our subject was born, 
and there both grandfather and father died, the 
latter about 1845. Mr. Denny's mother lived 
until 1889, and died in Kansas at the age of 
eighty 3'ears. 

Our subject is the eldest of a family of five 
boys, of whom four are now living, namely: J. B. 
who lives on an adjoining farm; Robert W., who 
is an extensive miner in Mexico but resides at 
Newton, Kan.; and P. B.. who lives at Walshville, 
this State. All four of these men did excellent 
service in the late war. He of whom we write 
grew up on ills father's farm and received the ad- 
vantages common to the agricultural class of his 
day and locality. 

July 7, 18(51, Mr. Denny enlisted in the army, 



joining Company E, of the First Illinois Cavalry, 
under Capt. Paul Walters. He was t.aken |irisoiier 
at Lexington, but was released on parole. He 
was not, however, exchanged until his term of 
service was out, when he was discharged. While 
the war was still in progress, our subject married 
3Iiss Emily Bowen, a native of Springtield, Vi. 
Slic died four years later, leaving one daughter, 
Nellie R., who married Cli.-irles A Fellows, of Buf- 
falo, N. Y. 

Mr. Denny lias been a farmer all his life but has 
other interests in which he has money invested 
tliat bring him a handsome income. He was one 
of the original stockholders in the Sorcnto Coal 
Company, in which he is at the present time a 
Director. He was instrumental in getting the 
right of way for the two railroads that cross at 
Soreiito, and has always given freel\' of his time 
and al)ility to whatever cause ap[ieared to be for 
the benefit of the community. 

The second marriage of Mr. Denny took place 
Feliruary 28, 1871, the lady of his choice being 
Miss Melinda Armstrong, of Montgcnnery County. 
There have been eight children born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Denny: Emily J. and Ilattie May were both 
educated at the Lincoln University; James Imliert 
is now at school at Sorento, .as are Pearl, Hilda 
and Fay. Marcia E. and Ilersehel A. are de- 
ceased. 

The father of Mr. Denny was a school teacher 
of some iu)te in his day and served as County 
Commissioner and County Clerk. He was one of 
the Associate Judges of the county and f(.)r many 
years acted as Justice of the I'eace. 



-^^- 



iT/_^ ENRY BR.VKENHOFF is a prominent Cer- 
*" . jl ' man-American citizen .aiid farmer, who 
keeps abreast with the progress of the 
^ times, and is f)iie wtio has advanced the in- 
terests of his adopted C(.)untr_\' at all times. His 
life of industry and usefulness and his record for 
integrity and true-hearted faithfulness in all the 



276 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



relations of life have given him a hold upon the 
coninuinity which all might well desire to share. 

Mr. Brakenhoff was born in Ostfriesland, Ger- 
inanj', Ma^' 5, 1831, and his father, Eilbert Braken- 
hoff, followed the occupation of an agriculturist in 
his native land. On this farm young Brakenhoff 
grew to a sturdy manhood, and received a fair ed- 
ucation in the common schools. Under the laws 
then existing in Germany, he would at the age of 
twenty-one years be forced into the German army, 
so not being ambitious to become a soldier, and 
not being able to obtain the consent of the king 
to leave the country until he had served his time 
in the army, he determined to leave without his 
knowledge or consent. Aecordingl}', in 1851, and 
before he was twent3'-one years of age, he quietly 
arranged with a friend from America, then visit- 
ing in German}', to pay his passage to the New 
World, agreeing to work for him until his ex- 
penses had been made good. 

Young Brakenhoff sailed from Bremen to Amer- 
ica, and after a seven-weeks ocean voj'age landed 
in New Orleans. He proceeded at once to Alton, 
111., and there found employment in the coal 
mines, thus earning the money to piiy his friend 
for expenses incurred in the trip. He continued 
in the mine for five or six years, after whicli he 
engaged in farming near Mt. Olive. Two years 
later he again returned to the mines and continued 
there until 1867, when he came to Montgomery 
County, purciiased the farm where he has ever 
since lived, in Nokoinis Townsiii|i, and has met 
with unusual success in tilling the soil. For a 
number of years he has lived a retired life, and his 
sons are working and looking after the farm. 

In 1872, Mr. Brakenhoff made a trip to the 
Fatherland to see his mother and many friends, 
and enjoyed his trip immensely. However, he 
w.as glad to return to the land of his adoption, 
and \\v.re he has remained ever since, realizing 
that America is tlie best country after all. 

'J'he original of this notice was married in 
Alton in 1854 to Miss Henrietta Carslen, a high- 
minded Ocrinan lady and a sister of John Carsten, 
the wealthy grain merchant and politician of 
Nokomis. This union h.as resulted in the birth of 
seven children, two of whom died in infancy, 



and one, Lena, died after reaching womanhood. 
Those now living are as follows: Eilbert and 
Harmon, both bright and promising young men, 
living at home and carrying on the large farm; 
while Garrett, a member of the large mercantile 
firm of J. Waltman & Co., of Nokomis, is a thor- 
ough business man. The last-named married Miss 
Lucj' Essman, of Missouri, and their daughter, 
Foska, is the wife of C. Croon, who owns a farm 
near by. The children are all industrious and in- 
telligent, and have made excellent citizens. 

Mr. Brakenhoff and wife are exemplary members 
of the German Lutheran Church, in which he is a 
Deacon, and in which he has ever been a leading 
figure. In politics, he is a strong advocate of the 
principles of the Republican party. He is one of 
the public-spirited citizens of the county, is inter- 
ested in all enterprises of a worthy nature, and no 
laiidalile movement is allowed to fail for want of 
support on his part. He is one of the most pop- 
ular men of the county, and a true German- 
American citizen. Such men are a credit to any 
community. 






A COB McCONATUY, a representative 
farmer of Montgomery County, residing in 
Rfiymond Township, section 5, has the 
' honor of being a native of this State. He 
was born in (ireene Count}', near Carrolton, Febru- 
ary 24, 1844. and is a son of Perry and Matilda 
Jane (Olverson) McConalhy. The McConathy 
family is of Scotch-Irish extraction and was 
founded in America by the great-grandfather of 
our subject, who crossed the Atlantic when a 
young man and located in Kentucky in the seven- 
teenth century. Jacob now has in his possession 
a razor wliich was brought liy his ancestor from 
the Emerald Isle. Jacob McConathy, the grand- 
father of our subject, was born in Kentucky be- 
fore the Revolutionary War and ftir many years 
was a leading miller of that State. 

Perrj' McConathy was born near Lexington, 



PORTRAIT AND BlOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



277 



Ky., August 17, 1813. By trade lie was ii saddler. 
Ill 1837, he made liis way in a two-wheel cart 
from Kentueky to the wild prairies of (ireeiie 
County, 111. For a time he worked at his trade, 
but soon located on a farm near what is now Rood- 
liouse, where iie continued to reside until his 
death, which occurred in 1881. He was quite 
successful and accumulated considerable property. 
He was a man of sterliujj; worth and was held in 
the highest esteem by his fellow-townsmen. For 
twenty-four years lie was honored with the oflices 
of Justice of the Peace and Notary Public, and 
for seven years w'as Assessor of his township, his 
long-continued service indicating his great |)opu- 
larity and the ability with which he disciiarged 
his public duties. Little is known concerning the 
maternal ancestry of our subject. His mother 
was born in (irayson County, Ky., .January 7, 
1819, and in an early day came to Illinois. She 
is still living in (ireene County. 

Jacob McConathy, whose name heads tliis re- 
cord, was the lifth in a family of fourteen chil- 
dren, numbering seven sons and seven daughters, 
of whom all of the former and two of the latter 
are yet living. He was reared on his father's 
farm and received but a limited education, his 
privileges being such as the common schools in 
the early days of Illinois afforded. lie carried on 
farming in (!reene County until 1872, when he 
came to ^lontgomery County and |uircliased the 
farm in Raymond Township on which he now 
resides. It was in 18G.") that Mr. McConathy wedded 
Miss Mary J. JlcCracken, a native of Greene 
County and a daughter of Samuel and Mary 
(Rranyan) McCracken. natives of Perry Count}', 
Pa., who were of Scotch descent. They located 
in Greene County, 111., in 183.5. Her grandfather, 
William Piianyan, served in the War of 1812. 
Her father died when she was seven years of 
age, but her motlier is still living in (ireene 
County at the age of scveiity-tlirce years. I'nto 
Mr. and Mrs. McConathy were born nine children, 
of whom two died in childhood, but seven are yet 
living: Charles II., Perry Milton, William Leslie, 
Cora Lula, J. Tilden, Mamie and I'earl Elizabeth. 

In politics, Mr. McConathy has always been a 
Democrat, but has never been an office-seeker. 



Socially, he is a member of the Modern Wood- 
men Society. He is a man of good business 
ability, enterprising and s.agacious, and by his well- 
directed effiirts has won prosperity. He is recog- 
nized as one of the successful farmers and stock- 
raisers of the coiiimunit\-. 



J«f?[ LKX.\NI)FR C. DIRDV, Chairman of the 
<@'Oj County Hoard <if Supervisors of ilont- 
li\ gomery County and a |n'ominenl grain 
and elevator man of ()hlmaii, is a true 
ty|)e of the American self-made man. He is of 
Scotch-Irish descent and inherits the thrift and 
enterprise of the former and the wit and (rue 
hearledness of the latter. He was born in Wash- 
ington County, Md.,on the Cth vf July, 1838, and 
was the youngest of the family of seven children 
born to James and Maiy (Lindsey) Durdy. The 
first representative of both the Durdy and Lindsey 
families in America were early settlers of Mary- 
land, where they located prior to the Revolution, 
and the grandfather of Mrs. Durdy fought in the 
war for independence. 

The father of our subject was one of those hon- 
est, hardworking men upon whom the sun of tinan- 
cial prosperity never shone with any degree of 
brilliancy. In fact, he was a very poor man. In 
185(1, thinking to better his condition, he removed 
with his family to St. Louis, Mo., where he soon 
afterward died, leaving a widow and a large 
family of children in very |>oor circumstances. 
Then it was, at the tender age e)f twelve years, 
that our subject was obliged to begin the battle of 
life for himself. He became an office lioy for a 
large foundry in St. Louis, and about all the edu- 
cation he received he obtained while attending 
night school. However, he made good use of his 
time and .-uMpiired a good business education. 
Gradually, he advanced until he had obtainoil the 
position of head book-kee[)er, which place he re- 
tained iiiiiil 18(iH, when he resigned to acce|>t a 



278 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



position in tlie office uf the Northern Missouri 
Railroad Company. However, he remained in this 
position but a short time when he had offered to 
him at a big salar>' the position of salesman on tiie 
road for a large wholesale liquor house in St. 
Louis. This position he held continuously up to 
the year 1881, and in tlie meantime acquired quite 
a fortune. In the last-named year, he began look- 
ing around for a suitable location, where he could 
rear and educate his children, and finally estab- 
lished himself, in the elevator business at Ohlman, 
where he has met with much success in his business 
venture. 

iMr. Durdy was married in 1862 to Miss Jose- 
pliine Burback, a native of St. Louis, of German 
descent, and to them have been born ten children, 
all of whom but one are living, namely: Mary E., 
wife of William Schaiier, of Indianapolis, Ind.; 
Alexander C, .Ir., married Miss Annie M. Best, 
daughter of Henry A. Best, one of Montgomery 
County's most prominent citizens, and a wealthy 
farmer of Nokoniis, who is connected with our 
subject in the grain business; Stella, wife of E. A. 
Rice, a prominent lumber merchant of Litchfield; 
Cora T. is the wife of E. S. I'miileljy, agent of the 
Big Four at Olilniaii; Anna C Florence, Eliza- 
beth, Louis ]>eon and Leon Cleveland. The last 
five named are still in the school room. The 
mother of our subject died in St. J^ouis in 1872, and 
of his brothers and sisters there are but two of the 
former and one of the latter living. Two of his 
brothers, Robert J^. and .Tames, fought bravely in 
defense of the flag during the Civil War, and tlie 
former received injuries in the service for which 
he received a pension of $30 per month. He is 
now a resident of Havana, Mason County, 111. 
The other brother answered to the final muster a 
number of jears ago. William J., another brother, 
is a sergeant on the St. Louis police force, having 
served in that capacity for the last twenty-six 
years. Our subject's sister. Mis. James Hanson, is 
a widow and resides in St. Louis. 

In politics, Mr. Durdy has been a life-long Dem- 
ocrat, as was his father before him. and has held a 
number of local ollices. For six years he has been 
a member of the Board of County Supervisors and 
is the present Chairman of the Board, a position 



he has held for four consecutive years with great 
satisfaction to his constituents and with equally as 
great credit to himself. He began at the bottom 
round of the ladder a poor orphan boy, and his 
career througli life is worthy of emulation. He is 
spending the evening of his well-spent life in his 
beautiful home, where he enjoys all the comforts 
of domestic bliss and wiiere, surrounded by a 
happy family, he can enjoy rest and quiet. 



^^^ 



:^ 



LIZABETH ANDERSON, widow of tlie late 
P. M. F. Anderson, an early pioneer, a rep- 
' resentativc farmer, and highly respected 
citizen of Pitman Township, ^Montgomery County, 
111., still continues to reside upon section 23, where 
in their happy home she and her husband spent so 
many useful years. Our subject is the daughter 
of .h)hn and Jean Montgomery, and was born in 
A3^rsliire, Scotland, the home of her ancestors, 
June 28, 1822. Her parents were honest, (iod-f ear- 
ing people, humble, industrious and upright in 
character, and under their careful training their 
daughter Elizabeth grew up to womanhood. 

Our subject's jiarents could give her only the 
advantage of a modest education, obtainable in 
the neighborhood of their home. But Elizabeth 
grew up a bright, intelligent, blooming lass, full of 
life, energy and ambition. Her mother had care- 
full}' instructed her daughter in the vvays of the 
frugal household, and when in 1841, at nineteen 
years of age, our sufiject gave her heart and hand 
to her chosen husband, Peter M. F. Anderson, she 
was a self-reliant, capable woman, well fitted to 
become a faithful and loving wife and mother. 

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson liegan their housekeep- 
ing in " bonnie Scotland," and prospered there as 
people must who possess hope, health, energy and 
will. The years passed on and little ones came 
into the home, bringing joy and sunshine, but the3' 
brought added cares as well. Anxious considera- 
tion for the future of their children determined 
our subject and her husband to emigrate to Amer- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



279 



ica, which offered to all worthy new-corners a 
lieaity welcome and an independent home. 

It was thought best that Mi\ Anderson should 
go first and select liie location of their future res- 
idence; he therefore bade a l)rief farewell l<> wife 
and bal)es and departed for the New World in 
1849. The letters he wrote home were full ofVheer 
and bright anticiiiation, and the presence of his 
family was only needed to make his life in Amer- 
ica a prosperous and ha|)py one. Mrs. Anderson 
was impatient to rejoin her husband and share 
with him the new exeriences of pioneer life upon 
the broad [)rairies of the Western IIemis[)here, and 
in liS.'iO, with hei ebildicii and the few liouseiiold 
treasures which could l)e easily and safely trans- 
ported, she embarked for America. The journey 
was Iioth long and tedious; the sailing-vessel made 
slow progress, and for seven weeks and four days the 
impatient passengers tossed about upon the rolling 
waves of the lirnad Atlantic. 

Safely landed in New York, our subject was not 
long in I'eaching her destination, Alton, 111. The 
reunited family made their residence in this city 
for about eight years and then removed to the 
homestead in Pitman Township. Mr. Anderson 
was a stonemason, and had also followed the trade 
of carpenter, but his farming venture was a suc- 
cessful one, and he continued an agriculturist the 
remainder of his life. When Mrs. Anderson with 
her husband and family settled upon section 23, 
the land could scarcely be called a farm. It was 
in fact unbroken [)rairie. upon which Mr. Ander- 
son turned the lirst sod. Years went on and the 
fertile soil annually yielded an abundant harvest, 
amply repaying him for all the toil and culture. 
In all the lal)ors of the home and farm the parents 
had the willing assistance of their childi-en, of 
whom four of the large family of twelve still 
survive: the living children are: .Tames, .John; 
]\Iary, wife of .lames Oiler, is the mother of five chil- 
dren;and Margaret, wife of Leroy C. Franks. Chris- 
tina, w-ife of J. Holmes, died recently. Our subject 
and her husband gave their children all possible 
educational advantages, and had the satisfaction 
of seeing them become useful ;ind lioiu>red citizens 
in the land of their ado|)tion. 

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were progressive peo- 



ple, and both took deep interest in public advance- 
ment. Mr. Anderson served efliclently as School 
Director, and his wise advice and sagacious coun- 
sel were highly appreciated by his co-laborers in 
the educational Held. He was a standi Republi- 
can, but impartial in his judgment of ollicial 
w^ortli. Our subject and her husband were both 
UH'mbers of the Presbyterian Church. 

Peter Andei-son was born March 1(), 1815, in 
Perthshire, Scotland; he died in Ilarvel Township, 
August 17. 18G6, universally regretted by the entire 
comnuinity, among whom hehadsiient an honored 
life. Mrs. .\nderson is the grandmother of thirteen 
living children; her son Robert, who died October 
24, 1890. left Richard, Harry, James, Grace and 
Robert M. Mrs. Christina Holmes was the mother 
of Elizalieth, Margaret, Mnrra\- and an infant son. 
Happy, useful and beloved, our subject waits her 
appointed time. Her days have been long and 
varied, her interesting experience in pioneer life 
a story of the past whicii never fails to find ready 
listeners. That her presence may long liless her 
friends and relatives is the earnest wish of all. 



fF<^ 



^ 



V/'l' UGrST BROKMIER,:i prosperous German- 
(@0| American, citizen who has done his part 
Is towai'd the improvement of this [lortion 
of the county, resides in Pitman Town- 
shi|i. His farm consists of one hundred and sixtv- 
oiie acres of line land and it shows careful, intelli- 
gent farming. 

Our subject was born in I'russia, on the 2(lth 
of September, 180(1, and is a son of Ilenrv and 
Frances Hrokmier, natives of the same country, 
who remained there all their lives, quiet, un- 
pi'etentious peo|)le, who (lid not jjossess the ven- 
turesome spirit of their son. Until the age of 
eighteen, August remained at home, or, to be [ire- 
cise, he passed his eighteenth birthday while on 
the shii) that was bearing him to the new land, 
where he had determined to make a home in spite 
of all (obstacles, 



280 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



In the older countries of Kurope, where popula- 
tion is dense, land is so vahiuble that nearly every 
foot is considered capable of cultivation, and that 
teaches the young men the thrifty haliits which 
cling to them and become characteristics of their 
farming when they come upon the broad acres of 
Western America. The subject of this notice 
reached the United States after a nine weeks' trip 
from Bremen, and upon Landing at New Orleans, 
set out for St. Louis, and soon found work in a 
chair factor}'. His labor proved satisfactory, and 
he continued there for a year and a-half, but his 
hope and ambition was to become a farmer, so that 
he could put into practice the methods which he 
had learned in his native countr}-. 

AVhen opportunity offered, he came to JNIont- 
gomery County, III., and engaged to work on a 
farm by the month, and gladly accepted $18 a 
month as good pay during the busy season. In 
this, as in his other work, he satisfied his employers, 
and kept right along until he w.as able to rent a 
place for himself. So well did he prosper in 
this that by the time the year 1880 came around 
he was in a position to purchase an excellent 
place of his own. He had had plenty of time to 
look about and choose a pleasant location, and 
when he came to his present place he settled here 
with his eyes open. He knew that hard work 
awaited him to make the farm what he wislied it 
to be, but he did not grudge any of that. The 
one hundred and sixty-one acres he has toiled 
over until now they are a pleasure and jiride to 
him. 

Mr. lirokniier has been thrice married, and 
seven children survive at tiiis time. They are: 
Henry A., Minnie, Tena, William, Anne, Herman 
and Charles, while .loliii and August are dead. 
Our subject is a respected member of the Lutheran 
Church of Farmersville, and has favored all of the 
improvements which have taken place in the 
county since his residence in it. He is a self-made 
man, and one whom all must regard with the 
greatest respect, as he has asked help of no man, 
but " paddled his own canoe " in the face of many 
difliculties, not the least being his imperfect 
knowledge of the language. In his own country 
he was well educated for his age, and since coming 



here he has acquired an understanding of the 
English tongue, but having to learn it w.as some 
drawback to him. He compares his condition now 
with that of the poor lad who landed in St. Louis 
with only seventy-five cents in his pocket, and 
feels that his work h.as not been in vain, but that 
his possessions pay him for time and labor ex- 
pended to obtain them. 



■jf [ AMES W. ROBINSON. A privilege that but 
few are spared to enjoy is that of having 
witnessed the birth of the nineteenth cen- 
tury' and to still live to join in the cele- 
bration of the fourth century of the discovery of 
this land, which is the home of freedom and equal- 
ity. Mr. Robinson is one of the rare individuals 
whose experience extends over this long space of 
years, he now being in his ninety-third j-ear. He is 
one of the pioneers of Bond County and is as 
conversant with the histor}- and development of 
I llinois as an y man now living. He was born in Lin- 
coln County, N. C, March 14, 1800, and is a son 
of Alexander and Martha Elizabeth (White) Rob- 
inson. His father was also born in North Carolina 
and was the son of Alexander Robinson, a native 
of Ireland, who came to America in the early part 
of 1700. 

In 1812, the Robinson family went to Tennessee, 
and in 181G our subject came to Illinois. After 
harvesting a trial crop in Madison County, he 
brought on his family and stayed one year in that 
loealitj'. He then came to Bond County and set- 
tled on land not far from where Reno is now lo- 
cated, the land still being in the possession of our 
suliject. There his parents died. Of the three 
brothers and three sisters that he had, none are 
living. 

.lames W. Robinson was married December 31, 
18.31, to Catherine Hess, a native of the State of 
Ohio. Their companionship was of only two 
yeai's' duration, her decease occurring .Inly 11, 
1833. She left to her husband one son, Alexander 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



281 



S., who on reaching manhood gave his life for his 
coiintiv, d\ ing in Libliy Prison, .Tnnunry 20, 18('it. 
Our subject again married, February 12, 1835, 
his bride being IMiss Polly Ann Armstrong. She 
i-urvived until Deeemlier 27, 18W'.), and on licr 
death left two cliildren, Mary K., the widow of 
^Milton Kosebrougli, who lives near Valley Falls, 
Ivan., and Elvira, the wife (if II. M. Ferguson, at 
whose home our subject is pleasantly' passing the 
latter years of his life. Mr. Robinson inherits his 
prinei|iles in politics from a long line of Whig an- 
cestors, and has voted tlie Hepublican ticket ever 
since the organization of that party. He has been 
a life-liing member of the Presbyterian (Inircli, 
and for many years has served as Elder. jNIr. 
Robinson is a vigorous and hale old gentleman 
who retains his faculties remarkably and bids fair 
to welcome in the twentieth centnrv. 



J^_^ EXRY M. FERGUSON, the son-in-law of 
Mr. Robinson, was born in Madison County, 
III., April 30, 1848. He is a son of Alex- 
ander and Ann Eliza (Gould) Ferguson, 
liotli natives of New Hampshire, who came to Mad- 
i>on County, this State, in 1831. There both par- 
ents died. Mr. Ferguson was next to the young- 
est of a family of eight children, of whom four 
are now living: (ieorge, who was a Lieutenant in 
Companv A, One Hundred and Twenty-second 
I llinois Infantry, is now an attache of tlie Agri- 
cultural Department at Washington, D, C; Solon 
is a lumberman, located at Lilierty, Ind.; Helen is 
the wife of Sanuu'l U. Waggoner, a farmer of Mad- 
ison County. 

Mr. Ferguson vvas lironght up on the home farm, 
receiving a good rudimentary education in the 
public schools of the vicinity. He comi)leted his 
studies at the McKendree College, of Leliai.on, this 
State, and was thereafter engaged in teaching for 
some j'cars in Madison and .Ierse3' Counties. He 
came to his presenti farm in the fall of \H7h. 

Mv. and Mi's. Ferguson were married October 



10, 1872, Mis. Ferguson being, as stated in her 
father's sketch. Miss Elvira Robinson. They have 
had six children, Imt of these three died when 
quite young. The surviving children are: (Ger- 
trude, Nellie and Eugene. Originally a Hcpiibli- 
can, Mr. Ferguson has espoused the I'rohibition 
cause, believing that upon the purity of this party 
does the future strength and power of our nation 
depend. He is a member of the Presbyterian 
Church, and for seven years served as Elder. He 
is Vice-president of the Sunday-school Association. 






■55- 



\Tp\, ANEY DAVIS, so long identilied with 
j|ii|l the best interests of Pitman Township, yet 
lives, and will long live, in the hearts and 
; memories of the friends, neighliors and 
general liiisiness community, liy whom he was much 
beloved and highly respected. His biography is 
well known, but a brief recital here may still more 
firmly establish the record of his honorable, uii- 
right and useful life. 

The parents cif our subject, .\lfred and Ann M. 
Davis, were liotli Soutlierners. Alfred Davis was 
a Tennesseean, but the iinimise of jirospority in the 
North caused his immigration to Illinois, where he 
and his wife settled in Macoupin County at a very 
early dav. In the new hftme Raney Davis was 
born, October 12, 1838. Years passed by, and in 
the quiet uneventful life of tlie farm, the child 
grew to man's estate. Mr. Davis had no extended 
opportunities for an education, but he punctually 
attended the disti-ict schools when he could be 
spared, and lost no ch;iiice to gain the kiKiwIedge 
he coveted. Farming duties early and late en- 
grossed much of his tune; hours of work were 
long and the labor often tiresome, Imt books or 
newsi)apers that came in his way were eagerly de- 
voured for the varied information and news thus 
obtained from the outside, world. 

Keeping pace with his work conscientiously as a 
fruthful son and breiul winner, he also found time 
to learn a trade. Alfred Davis, the father, was a 



282 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



blacksmith and natvirall^' taught his son a trade, so 
necessai'_y in a new eountiy. Tims, arrived at the 
age of twenty-one in liis native county, our sub- 
ject found iiimself doubly armed for tiie battle of 
life. To do his best work for man and beast seemed 
to have been liis earnest effort, and in the double 
avocations of farmer and blacksniitli he found no 
idle time. Self-educated, mainly, he gained beside 
the anvil and in the field an insight into many 
problems of life, and it was a common saying that 
no man was better posted on the topics of the 
da^- than Raney Davis. 

Within the walls of his blacksmith shop, eager 
and convincing arguments for the right were lis- 
tened to with respect by friend and neighbor. The 
district school had jilanted the seeds of integrity 
and honor which Mr. Davis' life developed to full 
maturity. But farming and work at the anvil did 
not occupy the whole of our subject's early years. 
He found plentj' of leisure to woo and win, and 
on Novemlier 21, 1861, married ^iliss Emeline Mc- 
Cluer, also of JMacoui)in County. This lady, a 
daughter of Jt>hn and Hannah McCluer, was born 
in Indiana, August 15, 1840. The McCluers soon 
after removed with their infant daughter to this 
State, and thus together boy and girl they grew 
up side l)y side, each a favorite in the county and 
neighborhood. Into the new home just founded 
six children brought sunshine and joy, though 
two of them have passed beyond. Charles K., 
Bertie L., Annie M. and Alliert L. still survive. 
.loseph K. and Frank died in early childhoixl. In 
the s|)ring of 1861, Mr. Davis and his family re- 
moved to Montgomery County and settled on the 
farm which is still the family homestead, and began 
in the new neighl]orhood the life which brought 
to tlu'.m both much ha]>piness and honor. The 
land upon which Mr. Davis located was unbroken 
prairie, but his energetic management soon yielded 
him goodly crops, and the improvements of to-day 
are a monument to his skillful toil. 

As before mentioned, he continued his trade of 
a blacksmith, in which he found ready custom from 
the surrounding country. Although always a 
busy man, ho yt^t found time to serve the public 
as Highway Commissioner of his township. He 
was also a valued member of the School Board, 



acting at times in the capacity of Clerk of the 
Board and School Director. Mr. Davis was a life- 
long Democrat, and together with his wife be- 
longed to the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which 
they weie valued members. As a kind friend, ad- 
viser and jjublic-spirited citizen, Mr. Davis was 
widely known. The entire township became 
mourners wlien death called him from its midst, 
May 7, 1891. 



^^•5•^•^ 



■irlOSEPlI p. THOMPSON is a retired farmer 
living in Greenville, Bond County. A 
self-made man, by his own efforts he has 
worked his way upward and achieved the 
success whicli l:)i-ought him a comfortable compe- 
tence and enables him now to lay aside all busi- 
ness caies. He was born in Davidson County, 
Tenn., Octoljer 31, 1822. His grandfather, Joshua 
Thompson, was a native of Ireland, who emigrated 
to America and settled in Viiginia, where William 
Thompson, the father of our subject, was born. 
The latter went to Tennessee in 1816, and mar- 
ried Sarah, daughter of William Scalle^-, a native 
of Tennessee, born of (ierman parentage. 

William Thompson was engaged in farming in 
Tennessee until 1837, when he removed to Law- 
rence Coinity. Ind., where he continued his agri- 
cultural pursuits until 18,")3. In that year he 
went to ^lissouri, where he spent the icmainder of 
his life. In [lolitics he was a Democrat, and 
knew Gen. .lackson and Zachary Taylor, becoming 
acrpiainted with the latter while serving as Cor- 
poral in the Black llawk War. With some others 
he got a quantity of honey from a bee tree, and 
they |)resenled the best of it to Gen. Taylor, who 
did not even thank them for the gift. Fi'om that 
time Mr. Thompson had not a ver\- high regard 
for Mr. Taylor. 

We now take up the [lersonal history of our 
subject, whose lioyliood days >yefe spent upon his 




Wiley Life 



h 






PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



285 



father's farm. His education was acquired in tlie 
common schools, and lie aftei-waid engaged in 
leaching in ^'i^ginia. Lalcr, lie engaged in mer- 
chandising in Indiana for four years, and in IiS46 
embarked in farming in Lawrence County, hid., 
where he spent ten years. The year 1856 wit- 
nessed his arrival in Bond County, where lie lo- 
cated near Elm Point, LaGrange Township, and 
purchased, on July 4, one hundred and ten acres 
of land, which he developed and improved. He 
extended the boundaries of liis farm until it com- 
prised over four hundred acres, and made his home 
there until 1875, when he sold out and pinchased 
three liuiidied and forty acres elsewhere, devot- 
ing his energies to the cultivation of the latter 
tract until 1881, in which year he came to Green- 
ville, lie here purchased four lots and three 
acres of land adjoining, and now has a line home 
with beautiful surrouudings. 

In 184tj, Mi: Thompson wedde<l 3Iiss Elvira 
Hoopingarner, of Lawrence County, Ind., and 
unto them were born six children: Thomas B., 
the eldest, married .lennie Sharp, and has three 
children, William, (ieoige and Cecil; JNLiry J. is 
the wife of Thomas Foster, by whom she has 
eleven children: Thomas, Joseph E., Annie, Will- 
iam, Estella, Ellen, Henna, Bevey, Blaine, Frank 
and Pearl; John M. married jNIiss Nancy Walker, 
and they have four children: Arthur, Pearl, 
Grace and John; Joseph P. is the next youngest; 
George F. married Rosa Williams, and has one 
son, Harold B;; and Moses E. married Isephine 
Watts, and they have two sons, .losepli T. and 
Dwight M. The children all reside in this 
county. The death of the mother occurred in 
18G5. She was a member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church. JMr. Thompson was again married, 
in 18()(!, his second union being with Mrs. Per- 
melia Henderson, of Orange County, Ind. Four 
children grace tliis marriage: Maggie, wife of 
Shelton .lett, of Kansas; Ida, wile of Henry M. 
Blizzard; Harry M. and Elva M. at lionif-. 

Mr. Thompson exercises his right of fiancliise 
in suiJjiort of the Republican party. He served as 
Justice of the Peace for eight years, as City Ald- 
erman of Greenville, and has been honored with 
other ollices. Industry and enterprise are luini- 

13 



bered among his chief characteristics, and by 
uin-ight dealing and good business ability he 
won the prosperity which has justly crowned 
efforts. 



Ins 

lias 
his 



©__ 



_^] 



^r^ 



.^■s^e^ 



i 




f/" 



H.EY LIPE. The subject of the following 
ll sketch can certainly look back upon a 
^/ busy life and feel that his labors have not 
been in vain. When success crowns any victor in 
a struggle, reward is his due, and .Mr. Li|)e re- 
ceives his reward in the peace and plenty which 
surround his declining yeai's, and the rest he can 
now take after the hard fight against disadvanta- 
geous circumstances and jioverty. 

Tlie grandparents of our subject were of (Ger- 
man extraction on both sides. The father bore 
the name of John Lipe, and the mother was Rachel 
Blackwelder. They were married in North Caro- 
lina, and when Wiley was ten years of .age. came 
to Illinois and settled near Ilillsboro, where they 
rented land and remained two years. They then 
entered Government land three-fourths of a mile 
south in Irving Township, and there they resided 
iint,il the time of their deiitli. Mr. Lipe was an 
old-line Whig until the formation of the Republi- 
can party, with which he was afterward identilied. 
He held no ollices, as in those days men had opinions 
without being paid for tlieni. His religion was 
that of the Lutheran cliur<-li. Some thirty years 
have passed since his de;itli, which occurred when 
he was alioiit sixty-six. The mother of our sub- 
ject lived to be about eighty years old, her death 
hiiving occurred about seven years since. 

The family consisted of sixteen children, but 
seven died before they attained maturity. Those 
who li\cd were given the following names: B;ir- 
bara. Nelson, Alien, No;ili, l)(4ilah, Wiley, Eiiza- 
lietli .lohn and INIartin. Barbara married INI ichael 
Helly, of Irving Township, who died about forty 
years ago and left a large family ; afterward she mar- 
ried Michael Walcher.and became the mother of two 
children whostill li\t' on the same place. Nelson, 



286 



PORTKAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



formerlj- a resident of Irving Townsliip, married 
Nancy Iloffner, and died leaving a large family. 
Allen married Leali Neusraan and both are now de- 
ceased. Noali married Elizabeth Weller, and both 
he and his wife have passed away. Delilah first 
married Tillman Hetl^', and after his death she be- 
came tlie wife of ISIichael Walcher. Elizabeth, now 
residing in Irving Township, is the widow of Mil- 
ton Niisler, who died about fifteen years ago. John 
(irst married Louisa Lingle, four children now sur- 
viving of that union, and after her death he mar- 
ried Catherine Roiiihart. IIis death occurred in 
1888. Martin married Sophia Bone, and both have 
passed away, but their children still live. 

Wiley Lipe was born in Cabarrus County, N. C, 
and was reared there until his tenth year. He was 
then broiiglit to Illinois, but he found no op])ortu- 
nities for gaining an education in the locality 
where his parents settled. The school of stern, 
hard necessity was the only one in which he was 
educated. All of the knowledge he possesses he 
picked u[) as liost he could, and if his intelligence 
has made him more learned than many who have 
had better advantages, he deserves that much more 
credit. He remained at home until he was of age 
and then started out for iiimself. He took up 
forty acres of Government land, which he cleared 
and fenced, and added more land as his means per- 
mitted. As the result of his arduous work, he now 
owns one thousand acres of fertile prairie, meadow 
and timber land, which are his by the divine right 
of labor. He is an example to otiiers, showing where 
there is the will there will be the way. 

In tiie fall of ISJo, iNIr. Lijje married Harriet 
Newell Granthain, a daughter of Thomas and Eliz- 
abeth (Cluistie) (iranthain, but she died nine 
months after marriage. His second wife was Ma- 
ria Lingle, a native of North Carolina, and the 
daughter of John J. and Sarah (Black welder) 
Lingle. Iler life ended May IS, 1889. The rec- 
ord of her children is as follows: .lohn, a carpen- 
ter residing at I'aiia, married Alice P.ulkam, and 
they have twochildren. Joseph married S;irah Dra- 
per and they are the parents of two children. 
Harriet Newell married John AVeller and lias six 
children. Saiali ('huiinl-i innnied Mark Miller, of 
Auburn, 111., and tlii'^- have two children. Wil- 



liam Marshall lives in this township. His mar- 
riage to Belle Page has brought him eight children. 
Clark is unmarried and makes his home in Irving 
Township. Dorcas married Hade Wyman, and 
they, with their two children, reside near Auburn. 
INIinerva became the wife of Thomas Miller and 
lives in Missouri, her marriage being blessed by the 
birth of three children. Frank never married, but 
died at home when twenty-three years of age. Al- 
vin married Oia Draper and they reside on an ad- 
joining farm. AViley Adelbert died at home at 
the age of sixteen. Five children died in infancy 
and youth. 

Mr. J^ipe married for his third wife Mrs. Louisa 
(Hilt) Farniss, the widow of Robert Farniss. Four 
children of her first marriage survive: Charles, 
Katie, Philip and Robert, all at home. lAke his 
father, Mr. Lipe has been a Republican and he has 
never desired office. He is well known through- 
out the neighborhood and indeed enjoys an ex- 
tensive aciiuaintance in this part of the State. He 
is a consistent member of the Methodist Church, 
and is much respected in the community where his 
life has been passed. 



WA 



1I«N^ 




ijAXTER HAYNES, M. 1). This gentleman 
is a pioneer physician of ]\Iontgomery 
County, and resides on section 20, town- 
ship 7, range 2, Fillmore Township. lie 
located here in 1874, when few indications of the 
present iirosperity were apparent, and has since 
been closely identified with the growth and devel- 
opment of the county. Hy his skill and success in 
his chosen work, he has won an excellent reputa- 
tion as a ph^'sician, and the good-will of the citi- 
zens. He was originally from liarren County, Ky., 
born December 20, 1827, the eleventh child and 
seventh son of twelve children born to Rev. Will- 
iam and Anna (Henley) Haynes, natives, respec- 
tively, of North and South Carolina. The pater- 
u.'il giandfatlier, .lolin llaynes, was a native of 
England, but his wife, Mary Stice, was born lu 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



287 



Germany. The maternal grandfather, Timothy 
Henley, was a native of tlie green isle of Erin. 

Tlie parents of our subject were married in Bar- 
ren County, Ky., and there remained until the fall 
of 1829, when they came to Illinois, settling in 
Morgan County. There the father ft.llowed the 
occupation of a farmer, and was also a minister in 
the Baptist Church. He died in May, 1830, when 
forty-six years of age. The mother passed away 
in Morgan County when sevont^'-eight years of 
age. Their f.amily consisted of seven sons and five 
daughters, all of whom lived to be fifty years old, 
except one, who died when fourteen years of age. 
Our subject was but two \ears of age when he was 
brought to Illinois by his parents, and his first 
educational advantages were leccived in tlu' dis- 
trict schools of Morgan County. He remained un- 
der the parental i-oof until seventeen years of age, 
and then, in 184 1, went to the l,one Star State, 
where he spent the winter. 

Returning to his home, our subject remained 
there until .June, 1846. when he enlisted in Com- 
jany G, First Illinois Infantry, for service in 
the Mexican War, under Capt. W. .1. Wvatt. He 
served one year, being discharged in 1817, and 
igain returned to Morgan County, 111. In 1848, 
jie crossed the plains with an ox-team, but later re- 
.urned to Morgan County, where he was married on 
he 4th of January, 1849, to Miss Susan ]5ull, who 
lied March 3, 1863. Five children were born to 
lis union, as follows: l^r. Moses, of Fayette, 111.; 
lane, wife of Clark Nichols, of East Fork Town- 
lip; Anna, wife of William J. Lynn, of Fill- 
nore; Elizabeth, wife of P. II. Smith,'of Fast Fork 
'ownship; and William, of Fillmore Township. 
)ur subject's second marriage occurred on the 2()th 
f January, 1864, his bride being Miss Margaret J. 
irown. Four daughters and a son have blessed 
his union: Farie B. (deceased) was the wife of 
Villiani Ovcreem; Iliiam S. died in 1866, in in- 
iincy; Caroline S. is the wife of John L. Smith- 
eed, of Fillmore Township; Etlie May married 
tephen J. Jett, of Bond County; and Delia A. 
oiniiletes the family circle. 

In 18 19, the original of this notice located on .-i 
:iriii in Macoupin County, Hi., reiiinining there for 
^'O .\ ears, and then located in Sugar Creek Grove 



of the same county, where he was engaged in farm- 
ing. In 1852, he removed to Morgan County, lo- 
cated on a farm, and after residing on the same 
until 1856 removed to Dallas County. Tex. There 
he commenced practicing medicine, remaining 
there until the following spring, when he located 
in Bates County, Mo. In connection with his 
practice, he was engaged in farming, and followed 
both until August of the same year. From there 
he removed to Kansas and settled in Bourbon 
County, where he practiced for two months. Thence 
he returned to Macoupin County. III., where he 
practiced medicine until 1862. 

Being filled with a |)atriotic desire to serve his 
country's cause. Dr. Ilayncs enlisted under the 
Stars and Stripes, January 15. 1862, and raised a 
company of one hundred and three men, which lje- 
came Company E, One Hundred and Twenty-second 
Illinois Infantry. He served as Captain for one 
year and eigiit months, and w.as injured at Park- 
er's Cross Roads in December, 18G2. His wife died 
about this time, and <m account of that bereavement, 
and his iiijin-ies, he resigned in .April, 1863. Later, 
he located in ZanesviUe, Montgomery County, III., 
and was actively engaged in his [iractice for a 
time. Next, he located at Doniiellsoii, in the same 
county. After remaining there two years, he lo- 
cated on a farm four miles east of that [ilace, and 
continued his practice for eight years. He then 
disposed of that proiierty, and removed nine miles 
east of Donnellson. Ten years later he returned 
to I)<innellson, where he remained three years, and 
then settled on his present pro[)erty in 1887. 

Since 1861, Dr. Ilaynes has been engaged in the 
active practice of his profession, and is one of the 
most ))opular physicians of the county. His prac- 
tice extended twenty-five miles in every direction 
and he was well known over a wide .scope of terri- 
tory. He began the study of medicine when twenty- 
eight years of age in Rush Medical College, Chi- 
cago, and remained there during 1864-65. In 
1879 and 1880 he attended the College of Physi- 
cians and Surgeons in St. Louis, graduating in the 
latter ye;u-. He is a member of the Montgomery 
C<uinty Medical Society, and the District Medical 
Society of Ccutral I lliiiois, also the St.atc Medical 
Society. Socially-, he is a member of Fillmore 



288 



PORTRAIT ANT) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Lodge No. 270, F. & A. M., and is one of the most 
respected and esteemed residents of the county. 
Altlioiigh lie is a self-m:ide, self-educated man. lie 
has met with success in all his occupations, and is 
the owner of three hundred and sixt^-four and 
one-lialf acres of land in Fillmore Township. When 
starting out for himself, he worked by the month 
or day, and with the money thus earned he bought 
two calves. Later, he traded these fc>r a horse, and 
in that manner he made his start in life. 



/^i\ AREY W. .lEJN'NINGS is quite a prominent 
[ip^^ farmer in Shoal Creek Township, Bond 
^iiJy County. lie was born in Johnson County, 
liid., .January 24, 1835, a son of Benoni and 
Rachael L. (McKinney) Jennings. The elder Mr. 
Jennings was of English and Welsh ancestry, but 
was l)orn in Brown County, Ohio, in the year 1800. 
His wife was a native of the same locality, and of 
Irish ancestr}'. Soon after marriage tlie3' moved 
to Indiana, and in 1841 came to Coles County, 
111., and in 1844 to Bond County, locating near 
Greenville, which place continued to be their home 
for live years. 

The Jennings family, at the expiration of the 
time above named, moved to a place three miles 
north of Old Ripley. There both jiarents died in 
1854, having fallen victims to the cholera. Aug- 
ust 12, 18()1, our subject entered the army, joining 
Company 1), of the Third Illinois Cavalry, and 
was made a Corporal. He served throughout a three 
months' campaign in Missouri, and was in the fight 
at Sugar Creek and at Pea Ridge. I^ater, his com- 
pany was a|)pointed as escort to Gen. Steele. Much 
of the time during Mr. Jeuning's war experience 
he was sick, and was finally discharged at Spring- 
field, 111., September 5, 1864, after a service of 
three years and iwenty-three days. He now draws 
a pension of ^16 per month. 

The business lo which the original of this 
sketch has given his undivided attention, with the 



exception of the time spent in the army, is that 
of a farmer. From 1871 to 1874 he was in Morgan 
County, Mo., but came to Sorcnto in 1883, and 
here he has lived ever since. August 9, 185C, a 
momentous event was celebrated in our subject's 
career, that of his marriage, at which time he took 
upon himself the vow to protect and cherish as 
his wedded wife Mary E. Willey. Her father, 
Wilson W. Willey, was a Lieutenant-Colonel in 
the Mexican War. The years that have passed 
since their union have been blessed by the advent 
of seven children, five of whom are now living. 
They are William G., who resides in Sorento; 
Amanda F., the wife of Thomas P. Moss, also of 
Sorento; E. W., who is at present in Texas; George 
E., also in Sorento; and Nettie Belle, who is still 
in school. The Republican party receives the fa- 
vors which IMr. Jennings has to bestow in a polit- 
ical way, while in a social way he is a strong Grand 
Army man. 



l>^-<^ 



~— >— 



■^I'oSEPnUS CAUBY has alw.ays resided in 

this State, and his principal occujjation has 

i been farming, although he has also held a 

' number of local offices, and was Assessor of 

Bois B'Arc Townshiji for some time. He has ever 
been identified with the best interests of Montgom- 
ery County, and ranks as a noticeable illustra- 
tion of that indomitable push and energy which 
characterize men of will and determination. In 
addition to being a successful farmer, whose opin- 
ions upon matters i)ertaining to agriculture carry 
with them great weight, he is a man of broad in- 
telligence, who h.as given much attention to ques- 
tions of public import. At present Mr. Cauby is 
a resident of Farmersville, and is a jjroinincut cit- 
izen of that place. 

Born in Cass County, III., February 2fi, 1834, 
Mr. Cauby is the son of Joseph and Sophia 
(Siinms) Cauby, the father a native of the Palmetto 
State, and the mother probably of Kentucky. 
The parents were early settleis of Illinois, where the 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



289 



father entered Land from the Government. He 
was industrious and enterprising, and was pronii- 
uently identified witli tlie growtli and prosperity 
of tlie county. l>y liard worlv and eeonomy lie 
became tlie owner of an excellent farm, and he 
and liis excellent wife received their final snm- 
mons on the homestead where they had passed 
the best years of their lives. The jouthful days 
of GUV subject were sjjent in assisting liis father to 
imiirove and develop the farm, and as he became 
thoroughly familiar with agriculture in his youth, 
it was not to be wondered at that lie should 
choose it as his calling in his life. 

The district schools of Cass County furnished 
our subject with a good practical education, but 
the principal part of his knowledge has been ob- 
tained by his own exertions. He was married on 
the l.'5tli of April, 1856, to Miss Emaline Gerhard, 
a native of the Bucke3"e State, born in Montgomery 
County .luly 17, 18.37, and the daughter of Sam- 
uel and Ann (Kardis) Gerhard, both natives of 
Maryland. At an early date, and when Jlrs. 
Cauby was quite small, the parents moved to Scott 
County, 111., where they were among the pioneers, 
and where she was reared. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Cauby have been born seven children, six of 
whom are living at the jiresent time, viz; Anne, 
wife of William Downey; Frank; Nettie, wife of 
Mathias Clow; .Tose|)h F.; Clara, wife of George 
Browning; aud William. Fninia C. is deceased. 

In the spring of IMtil. INIr. Caub\' moved to 
Montgomery County, and .settled in Bois D'Arc 
Township on a farm, where he remained until the 
spring of 1888. He erected good buildings and 
all necessary adjuncts, has accumulated his fine 
property by industry, economy and good manage- 
ment, and is now one of Monlgomei-y Cou.ntj''s 
solid men and enterprising citizens. In the 
above-named year he moved to Fannersville, and 
liere he has made his home up to the present time. 
He owns one hundred and sixty acres of land, and 
is a self-made man in every sense of that term. 
For three years he served as Assessor of Bois 
D'Arc Township, and has held other positions in 
the township, filling all with al)ility and elliciency. 
He is highly respected, and his advice and aid in 
all enterjirises regarding the advancement of his 



community are very much appreciated. Mr. and 
Mrs. Cauby are worthy members of the IJaptist 
Church, and he is serving as Clerk in the same. 
They are aLso identified with the ^Missionary 
Society of tlie cluireh. hi politics he is a [n'O- 
nounced Democrat, and takes iiuich interest in the 
triumphs of his party. 




ON. K. F. BKNNliTT, M. D. Should the 
inquisitive stranger ask in the city of 
Litchfield for its most |)rominent citizen, 
very many would mention the gentleman 
whose name opens this article. He is the present 
Mayor of the place and also is one of the leading 
physicians, having been in practice here since 
18(12. 

Dr. Bennett w.as born in Shelby County, 111., 
October 2, 1839, and was the son of William F>. 
and Lavina (Curry) Bennett. The father was a 
native of Virginia, having been born near the 
[ticturesque city of Lynchlinrg, December it, IKI5. 
He received his education at Nashville, Tenn., his 
[jarents having located there when he was ([uite 
young, and came to Illinois when he had grown to 
manhood. He married in Shelby County a lady 
from Tennessee, and he still lives in Shelby County 
on a farm with liis youngest son. He became a suc- 
sessful Illinois farmer and a prominent man in 
his county. He is a Republican in his polities and 
is a member of the Board of Supervisors. He and 
his wife were members of the Christian Church, 
but the former is not now living, she ha\iiig died 
in 1872, at the age of fifty-six years. 

Our subject was the eldest in the family of chil- 
dren and was sent U> the Moultrie Count\' Semin- 
ary to .acciuire an education. This was a fine school 
and our subject improved his oi)portunilics .so that 
at the age of seventeen he w.as able to take charge 
of a school for himself, an<l for two succeeding 
years he continued a teacher. He h;id made up his 
mind in the meaiUime that he would becoiiie a 
physician, a fine, thorough one, and 1,o that end 



290 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



he began rearlin<i: under the direction of Dr. Henry, 
at Paradise, 111. lie then attended lectures in 
the medical collejje at Cincinnati, Ohio, and was 
graduated from that place with honor in 1861. 
He had studied hard with the hope of success be- 
fore him and realized that in these later daj-s a 
physician must very thoroughly understand his 
profession to be able to keep up with the times. 
His first field of practice was in a small town. 

Dr. Bennett was confident of his ability, and in 
1862 he came here, where he saw there would be 
many calls made upon a good physician, and here 
he has remained ever since. At that time, the place 
only contained fifteen hundred people, and there is 
no one here in active practice who was here at the 
time when Dr.Bennett opened his office. He has been 
a general practitioner and has a wide experience in 
this growing cit^'. His long country rides are now 
over, but he loved his work and even took the hard- 
ships with pleasure. His practice has been remun- 
erative, but there are more cases on his books, or 
in his memory, of medical care and advice that he 
cannot balance on the right side of his ledger than 
of those who have remembered the Doctor when 
they were well as quickly as when sickness over- 
took them. 

Dr. Bennett is a member of the Illinois State 
Eclectic Medical Society, of which he has twice been 
President. He has many interests in the city, 
has two farms, also bank stock, and real estate, 
and holds the position of President of the Oil 
City Building and Loan Association. This is a 
large local association with a capital of 11,000,000, 
which is soon to be increased to $3,000,000, and 
they are just about to pay the first series, having 
rvin about nine years. Our subject is one of the 
incorjiorators, he having taken an active part in it 
all the w;iy through, as he has seen its advantages. 
He has been a public-spirited man and has helped 
to get the mills, shops, etc., which have made the 
pl.ace .assume its thriving condition. He was 
Mayor of the city at the time the St. Louis Rail- 
road was put through here, and he is now closing 
his fifth term as Mayor. His defeat for any city 
office has yet to take place. In 1888, he was the 
Republican nominee for the State Senate, and the 
first count gave fourteen hundred votes against 



him, but the official record was only five hundred 
against him. He has been an Alderman four 
years, a member of the Board of Education for a 
number of terms, and has been President of the 
Board for two terms. His property in the city is 
|)rincipally residence property and is very valuable. 
The fraternities to which Dr. Bennett belongs 
are: Independent t)rder of Odd Fellows, Knights 
of Pythias, Knights of Honor, and Modern Wood- 
men of America. He is a consistent member of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he has 
taken great interest for many years. He was mar- 
ried to Miss Elizabeth ,1. Storm, of Shelby County, 
111., the daughter of Greenup Storm. They have 
two children: Harry F., who is in Chicago, having 
been recently graduated from the Northwestern 
Universitj'; and Maiy. The home ot Dr. Bennett 
is n model of all that n home should be, and in him 
and his family the good people of Litchfield take 
just pride. 



OHN SIMON. Among, those of foreign 
birth who are closely associated with the 
farming interests of Montgomery County, 
and who are early settlers of the same, we 
should not fail to present an outline of the career 
of Mr. Simon, for he has fully borne out the repu- 
tation of that class of industrious, energetic and 
thrifty men of German nativity who have risen 
to prominence in different portions of this coun- 
try. There are sterling qualities about the nation- 
ality that particularly fit them for almost any oc- 
cupation, and they have done excellent work in 
helping to develop the various resources of the 
country. Therefoi-e it is with genuine pleasure 
that we include his sketch in this work, for he is 
not only one of the pioneers of this county, but a 
man whose honesty, uprightness and sociability 
have won for him the esteem of all. 

Born in Germany, near Frankfort, October 24, 
1823, our subject is the son of George and Eliza- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



291 



betli Simon, natives of the Fatherland, wliero they 
remained until 1H2'J. At that, early dale they 
emigrated to tlie "Lan<l of tlie free," and settled 
ill Maryland, wliere they passed the remainder of 
their days. The following ehildren were horn to 
tiieir nniim: .lohn, Catherine, Caroline. Theodore, 
JIary, Louisa, Matilda and Iluldah. Our subject 
w.is reared m >Iaiy land, and reeeived but a limited 
edueation in iiis youth, jiis advantages being ver3' 
inferior to those of the present day. l>eing a great 
reader and a man of more than ordinary intelli- 
gence, he is mainly self-educated, and is as well 
informed as inany who have had nnich better ad- 
vantages. 

On the .5th of September, 1844, Mr. Simon was 
united in marriage with IMiss Catherine Peek, a 
native of Pennsylvania, born in Somerset County, 
March 4, 1825. She is the daughter of Henry and 
Eva Peck, natives of the Keystone State, and of 
German descent. Tlie children born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Peck were as fc)llows: .lohn; Catheiine, Mrs. 
Simon; .Jacob, Elizabeth, Samuel, Sally, Susan and 
Henry. The four last named died after reaching 
mature years. 

Of the children born to our suliject and his wife, 
tlie following now survive: Elizabeth, Susan, 
Sarah. Savilla, lA)uisa. Catherine, Lucinda, .lulia, 
Alice, Jonas and (ieorge. Seven children are de- 
ceased, five sons and two daughters. In the fall 
of 186G, our subject with his family removed to 
the Prairie State and located first in Macoupin 
County, Init in the spring of 1867, came to Mont- 
gomery County and settled on a farm in Bois 
D' Arc Townshi(), where he has resided since. 

Mr. Simon has acquired about one hundred and 
fifty-five acres of land, ujion which he has since 
closely a|iplied himself to farming and stock-rais- 
ing, and with what success may be inferred from a 
glance at his farm. His estimable wife has been a 
helpmate indeed, and has aided him in every etToit. 
They settled on tlie raw piairie land, and Mr. 
Simon turned the first furrow on the place. He is 
a self-made man, and he and Mrs. Simon have 
reason to lie [iroud of their energy and persever- 
ance in gathering around them so many of the com- 
forts and conveniences of life. They have wit- 
nessed almost the entire growth of the count/. 



have contributed their share toward its develop- 
ment and progress, and are citizens of whom any 
community might be proud, r.othare worthy mem- 
bers of the German I)a|itist Church, and Mi. Simon 
is a Deacon in the same. During her girlhood Mrs. 
.Simon attended a suliscription school, and, although 
she had limited educational advantages, she is a 
thoughtful reader and observer, and an intelligent 
conversationalist. They .are lionoiable and useful 
citizens, and an ornament to their coinniunit\-. 



h»*fcw W T. t - 



' I ' I J l 



OHN T. MADDEX is among the most enter- 
prising and deservedly successful of the 
many eminent gentlemen who devote their 
^^ time and energies toward the material ad- 
vancement of the best interests of llillsboro and 
Montgomery County. Few maintain a higher 
reputation ftir integrity and reliability, and as he 
has been a resident of Montgomery County since 
the ,age of three years, he is well and favoraldy 
known throughout its length and bieadtli. His 
methods are straightforward and honorable, and as 
a consequence the volume and value of his real- 
estate and insurance business are steadily enlarg- 
ing from day to day. A large part of his success is 
due to his knowledge of real-estate law, thereby 
protecting investors from imperfect titles, and giv- 
ing them confidence that money invested through 
his office is not only (irofitable, but safe. 

Our subject was born in (irt'en ville, liond 
County, III., Aiiril o, 18;i;i. His father, .lohn Mad- 
dux, was a native of Kentucky, as w.as also the 
grandfather, .lohn Maddux, Sr. The father of our 
subject was born in the year 1708, grew to man- 
hood in his native State, and was there married to 
Miss Rebecca White, who w.as born and reared in 
the IJlue (irass State. jVfter inai-riage. the pai'cnts 
remained in Kentucky until ab<nit 18:50, when they 
removed to the Sucker State, locating in (Green- 
ville, Bond County. They removed from thereto 
llillsboro, I II., in 18;ii;, and in that place passed 
the closing scenes of their lives, the father dying 



292 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



at the ngi: of fifty-six, and tlie mother at the age 
of eiglit^v-two. He was a private in the Black 
Hawk AVar. 

Six children were the frnits of the auove-meu- 
tioned union, two sons and four daugiitcrs, five of 
whom grew to mature _years, and tiiree are still 
living, our subject and two sisters, viz: A. Jane, 
wife of Thomas Standing, of Hillsboro; and Eve- 
line P., the widow of M. J. Blockburger. Oursub- 
ject was the youngest member of the famil}', and, 
as before stated, was but three years of age when 
his parents brought him to Montgomery County. 
As a conseqiience, all his recollections are of this 
county. He received the rudiments of his educa- 
tion in the public schools of Hillsboro, and finished 
his studies in the Hillsboro Academy. In 1853, he 
commenced clerking in a general store for .Tames 
Glenn, and continued as clerk for three years. In 
1857, he was appointed by the Governor as Mail 
Agent on the now I)ig Four Railroad, running 
from Terte Haute, Ind., to St. Louis, and held tiial 
position for one year, when lie resigned, being- 
elected County Clerk of IMontgomery County. He 
filled that position with much efticiencj' for four 
years. 

In 1862, our subject enlisted in Comi)any C, 
Seventieth Illinois Infantry, and was made Captain 
of bis company, whicii numliered one hundred and 
one men. He was at Camp Butler for one hun- 
dred days, and was but six montlis, guarding 
lirisoners most of tiie time. At tlie end of that 
time he returned home, and was Deputy Circuit 
Clerk for one year. In 18()5, lie engaged in the 
general merchandising business in Hillsboro, and 
carried tliis on very successfully for two and one- 
lialf years, when lie sold out and emliarked in 
the real-estate, brokerage and insurance business, 
which he has since continued. He was elected the 
first Mayor of the city of Hillsboro, and held that 
position one year, his administration being marked 
by the decided improvements made in the city dur- 
ing his incumbency, lie has been a meml)er of tlie 
Council many terms. He is a Knight Templar in 
the Masonic fraternity, and is a member of Hills- 
boro Lodge No. 51, Chapter of the same in Hills- 
boro and of Litchfield, K. T., No. 30. 

Mr. Maddux was married on the 2t;th of .Jan- 



uary, 1860, to Miss Mary F. Sainmons, a native of 
Lewis County, N. Y., and they have had but one 
child, P'.lsie E., who died at the age of twelve 
years. Mr. and Mrs. Maddux have a very pleasant 
home in Hillsboro, arc deeply interested in the de- 
velopment and progress of the city, and are uni- 
versally respected. 



Vf OSEPH M. HAKEK. The learned professions 
have many disciples who aspire to honor 
and dignity in their chosen fields, and all, 
5g/' with greater or less reason, expect their 
efforts to be crowned with success. He of whom 
we have the pleasure of attempting a short bio- 
graphical sketch, is one of the many to woo the 
fickle goddess of fortune beft)re the Bench and 
15ar. Nor does he aspire witiiout cause, for nature 
h.as gifted him generously with those qualities 
that make themselves felt in the legal profession. 
He has much of the mesmeric (lower that, in plead- 
ing a case, can make .ludge and jury see the case 
from his own standpoint. 

Mr. Baker is a inodiict of the Prairie State, born 
in Grisham Township, Montgomery County, Oc- 
tober 5, 1866, and is the son of Rev. William P. 
and Margaret .T. (Mcl^ean) Baker, both natives of 
the Sucker State, the father born in ^lacoii, and 
the mother in Montgomery County. The grand- 
father of our suliject, AVilliam D. Baker, was born 
in the old North State and was a farmer by occu- 
pation. He inherited niuch of the thrift, enter- 
prise and courage of his Scotch ancestt)rs. His 
wife, who is the daughter of a Revolutionary sol- 
dier, is still living and is ninety-two years of age. 
Our subject's maternal grandfather, .Joseph Mc 
Lean, was born in North Car^)lina and was a prom- 
inent man for his time and d.ay. 

Rev. William P. Baker, father of our subject, 
became a prominent minister in the Cumberland 
Presbyterian Church. He and his wife are now 
residing at Hillsboro, and are prominently iden- 
tified with all worthy enterprises. They are much- 




t*^l 




■f^^ 



^ff/^L iyf. ^'e-y^^^^ 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



29^ 



esteemed citizens and Mi'. Bnkei- takes a deep in- 
terest in his nolile ealiing. lAlr. Baker is now liv- 
ing with his second wife. To his lirst union were 
born two cliihlren,a son and daughter: Willi.ani C., 
deceased; and Ora 1)., the wife of (4. II. Donnell. 
of tli<( State f)f Wasliington. The second union 
also resulted in the liirtli of a son and daugliter: 
our subject and ]\Iar_v J., the latter at home. 

The original of this notice, tlie eldest chihl liy 
the second marriage, improved his chances in tlie 
district schools until fifteen years of age, when he 
entered Hillsboro Academy, and graduated from 
that institution in 1885. After this he commenced 
the study of law, but at tlie same time began 
teaching st'hool and followed this profession for 
three 3'ears. lie studied law in the office of Hon. 
J. M. Truitt, and remained with him for two 
years. In 18K9,he was admitted to tlie liar before 
the .Supreme Court of tlie State and has practiced 
his profession In Hillsboro since. Although among 
the ^younger members of the Bar, he is not only 
a lawyer of ability, but is also painstaking and in- 
dustrious in preparing his cases and guarding the 
interests of his clients with great care. 

As a law^^er, he comliines ability and a thorough 
training in legal principles with Industry and 
close application, and enjoys general esteem as a 
scliolarly \'oung man, a valuable counsellor and a 
useful and inlluentlal citizen. He is public-spirited 
and enterprising, giving his hearty support to all 
worthy movements, and is a worthy member of the 
Presbyterian Church. In his jiolitical attillations 
he is a stanch Republican. 









ISa^25_ 



■So~ 



^(OIIN N. PRICKETT. Our subject is a 
farmer living near Sorento and a veteran 
of the late war. He was born In liond 
County, near (ireenville, December "24, 
1826, and was the second oldest of a family of 
four children born to John and Anna (Ilolbrook) 
Prickett. Tlie latter was born in Georgia April 
8, 1801. and died December 30, 188.''>. Mr. Prickett, 



Sr., was also a native of Georgia and came to 
Illinois ill an early day, but died when our sub- 
ject was a lad of seven years of age. Mrs. Prickett 
again married, her second husliand being .lohii E. 
Evans. 

Of the four children born to our subject's par- 
ents, .I.ames R. is In Washington, and Jacob T. In 
Litchfield, this State; Thomas \V. Evans, a lialf- 
brother of our sul)ject, lives near b^'. lie Is also 
a veteran of the late war, having served in the 
One Iliindred and Eiftieth Illinois Infantry, .lolin 
N. w.as reared on the home farm, and there learned 
many things besides the rudiments of the educa- 
tion which he received In the district school. He 
w.'is engaged for a number t)f years as a teacher in 
the schools of the locality. September 5, I8(;i, 
he-entered the army, joining Comiiany A (an in- 
dependent company of sharpshooters), which was 
attached to the Twenty-sixth Missouri Infantry. 
This company was for a time body-guard to (ien. 
Eremont. They took part in the battles of luka 
and Corinth. After the latter engagement our 
subject was taken sick with a comiilication of dis- 
eases and was for a long time In a hospital at 
St. Louis, from which he w.as finally discharged 
January 6, 1803. 

February 3, 18C5, Mr. Prickett had so far re- 
covered that he again enlisted in Comi)any G, 
One Hundred and Fiftieth Illinois Infantry, hav- 
ing a commission as Orderly-Sergeant. He was 
afterward promoted to the post of First Lieuten- 
ant of Ills company, and served until January 
30, 18t!fJ,when he received his honorable discharge 
at Camp Butler, at Springfield, III. 

After our suljject returned from the army, he 
took unfii himself the duties and obligations of 
married life, his bride being JMIss Julia A. Denny, 
a sister of O. C. and E. W. Denny, wliose family 
came to Illinois in pioneer days. Mrs. .lulla 
Prickett died January IS, liS78, leaving three 
children, one of whom died In Infancy. Willie 
S. married .Miss Nellie M. LIuxwIler; Addle lives 
with her father. Our sultject again married, June 
'J, 1881, Ills present wife having been Miss Nancy S. 
Wile}', who was born in Montgomery County, 
where her parents were early settlers, coming 
hither from Kentucky. Her father, James Wiley, 



296 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



was born in Lincoln County, Ky., and her mother 
in Huncoralje County, N. C. The decease of both 
took phice in Montgomeiy County. Mr. Priekett 
is a strong Republican and is a practical exponent 
in his agricultural interests of tlie benefit reaped 
from the policy of that party. Ilis associations 
and reunions at various times with the Grand 
Army of the Republic have given him great pleas- 
ure. For many years he was engaged in teach- 
ing. He now lives on his farm, still retaining 
enougii of its active management to be a pleasant 
occupation for him. 



♦^•S 



_y 



/ ♦^♦^* 



'iflAMES II. COX. It is the fad of the day 
to assume that a newspaper, and especially 
a political organ, must be tiie popular edu- 
cator. This is doubtless true, and as with 
educators of other sorts, the editor and maker of a 
live, newsy sheet must be up and doing. It is an 
eas}' matter in these days of "patent insides" and 
"scissoring" of the liright things from the metropol- 
itan sheets, to make up an ordinary ])aper, but to 
know how to add its (iroper spice of local fact and 
fancy so that it will appeal to its own public and 
be indeed a cyclopedia of grateful knowledge, is 
anotiier thing. Our subject, however, who is the 
editor and pro|>rietor of the Daily News, a bright, 
original little sheet publishe<l in Litchfield, has 
shown that he has all the necessar3' attributes to 
edit a well-printed local sheet. 

Mr. Cox was born at Denison, Tex., .September 
2(), 18()7, ason of A. M. and ^'irinda (Hobbs) Cox. 
He was brought up, as one might say, in a print- 
ing office, his father before him having been en- 
gaged in th(' printing business. Mr. Cox, Sr., was 
originally from New Jersey, and his wife from \'ii- 
ginia. They were both persons well adapted to 
the training of a precocious young mind having 
aspirations for something really effective in the 
line of work to which it was directed. 

Young Cox received the earl^' part of his ed- 



ucation in his native place, but when he was ten 
years of age his parents moved to Bunker Hill, 
111., and a year later came to Litchfield, where the 
lad finished his educational course In 1880, he 
turned his attention whollj^ to newspaper work, 
including the mechanical part as well as the com- 
piling of the literary portion and news items. He 
was first engaged in the Monitor office, where he 
remained for two years. Following his connec- 
tion with this paper was an engagement of two and 
a-half 3'ears with the Mt. Oiive Herald. 

Newspaper men are proverbially restless crea- 
tures, always longing to see and know more of the 
great world, and this spirit for traveling is ren- 
dered easy by the fact that a compositor can make 
a living in any portion of the country. Mr. Cox 
determined to see something of the .South, and 
worked his way through many of the large cities, 
gaining, beside the pleasure incident to travel, a 
knowledge of the methods used in different pub- 
lishing houses. He spent some time in Louisiana 
and Texas, and thence went East. In all his travel, 
however, he kept a tender remembrance and a 
loyal feeling for the place of his rearing and adop- 
tion, and finally came back to Litchfield. For a 
short time after his return to this town, our sub- 
ject was engaged in the restaurant business. Ap- 
ril 12, 1890, however, he purchased the Daily News, 
which had been established by Mr. F. M. Roberts 
in 1885. It is a seven-column folio, with a pop- 
ular circulation in the city and count}', and is the 
oldest daily paper in the county. Mr. Cox spares 
no means or pains to make it aceeptalile to the 
public. 



_S3 



"^3 



^+^ 



r^ 




ATHANIEL H. MARTIN LINGLE was 
born in Rowan County, N. C, May 3, 
,^i) 1831. He is the son of John J. and .Sarah 
(Blackwelder) Lingle, who were natives of North 
Carolina, of English and German extraction. John 
J. was a farmer and his ancestors in North Caro- 
lina carried on agricultural pursuits there and 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHtCAL RECORD. 



297 



took part in the Revolutionary War. He died in | 
the old North State when our subject was three 
antl one-half years of ay'e, Itiit his wife survived 
liini until 18()l) and died in this eonnty. Slie mar- 
ried George Carriker in North Carolina and they 
moved into this townshi|i in IS 12, where herseeond 
husband died about 18.')(l. 

Tlie brotiiers and sisters of our subject were as 
follows: Monroe married Luciiida Riaekwelder 
and lives in Cabarrus County, X. C, but his wife 
died in 1888 and left one child; Alfred Wiley 
married Elizabeth Carrikerand moved into Soutii- I 
erii Illinois, but he was killed in tlie war while 
performing his duty in Stuigis' Raid at Pittsburg 
Landing, and left four childi-en ; Reiilicn married 
Katie Wilhelin and is a farmer in Pulaski County, 
111., and has a family of seven cliildren; Matthew, 
a minister in the Lutlieran Church now living at 
Oiney. 111., married Soi)hia Scheror, who at her 
death left two children; Selina married Henry 
Spangle, lives at Mattoon and has four children; 
Maria, who w.as the wife of Wiley Lipe and died in 
May, 1889, at the age of sixty-two; Louisa mar- 
ried John G. Lipe and died July 16, 1889, leaving 
five children: Josepli died April 16, 1862; and 
Jacob, who married Mary Lipe, lives in Irving 
Township and has three cliildren. 

Our subject was reared in North Carolina until 
he had reached eleven and a-half years of age, 
when he was sent to the sul)scription school and 
gained a good foundation there. He was brought 
to this State in 1812, by his mother and step- 
father, and the family settled in Roundtree Town- 
shi|) and there our subject remained until he had 
attained his majority. He was not satislied with 
his surroundings, and in March, is,"i2, went to 
California to try his fortune and remained away 
for two years, when he returned to Roundtree 
Township. In 18;")5 he went to Noi'th Carolina, 
his native State, but came liack to Illinois in 1856, 
and worked for eight or nine years at the carpen- 
tei's trade. When the war Iiroke out he enlisted 
for three months in Company H, Niiitli Illinois 
Infantry, and remained until his time expired, 
but lie found a soldier's life did not agree with 
him, so he returned to his work as a carpenter. In 
1862, he purchased fifty acres of land, which he 



added to until he finally had four hundred and 
seventy. His choice for a wife was Miss Catherine 
Lipe and the marriage was iierformed March 20, 
1862. She was the daughter of Allen and Leah 
(Nussmann) Li|)e and was born in IrvingTownsliip. 
Her i)arents liolli died in Roundtree Township. 
Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Lingle, 
as follows: Albert died when only a year old; 
Forrest married Ada Chamber and lives in this 
town; i\Iay married .lac,<>b Snyder, a fanner; Belle 
remains single; Orville, Grace, Alma and Hubert 
are at home. 

iSIr. Lingle is a Rei)ublican in his political belief, 
and has been true to party and has desired no of- 
fices. He is a valued member of the Lutheran 
Church, which he sup|jorts and attends. He has 
carried on a system of mixed farming and has 
l)een very successful and is a man much res|)ected 
in his ueiu'liliorhood. 



"yfoHN F. FILE. The pleasant little town of 
Soi-ento, v.liich is notable for its phenomenal 
growth, is the [)lace of residence of a num- 
ber of retired farmers, who have accumu- 
lated a handsome competency in their calling, and 
have settled here to s(iend the halcyon days of the 
late summer cif life. Our subject is a notalile 
member of this class and has a very attractive 
home. 

John F. File was born in Ripley Precinct. Bond 
County, .luly I-''. I8.'>2. He is a son of (ieorge 
and Mary (Lyttaker) File, and was the third boy 
and fifth child in order of birth of a family num- 
bering fourteen cliildren, namely: Henry, Peter, 
Elizabeth, Margaret, Moses E., Catherine, George, 
Sarah Melinda, Nancy E., Amanda, Hester, James 
N. and Susan, beside oui subject. Some of these 
children are now deceased. The survivors are 
honored and res|)ected citizens of the locality in 
which they live. 

As to the ancestry of the File and Lyttaker 
families, but little is known beyond the fact that 



298 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



thej' were both of old Pennsylvania Dutch stock, 
wlio in an early day emigiated to North Carolina. 
There tlie lather of our subject was born in Oc- 
tober, 1798. His mother was born in Tennessee in 
1808. Jn 18-22, JNlr. File came to Illinois, settling 
in liond County, where he took up land, but for 
many years he was engaged in the distilling busi- 
ness. He died in Ripley Township in 1857. After 
his first prospecting tour in Illinois, in 1822, he 
returned lo Tennessee and married our subject's 
mother. After a life spent in good works, this 
noble w'oman died in March, 1878, at the age of 
seventy years. 

John File grew uj) on his father's farm, receiv- 
ing such education as was furnislied in the com- 
mon schools of the da3'. March 17, 1853, he was 
married to Miss Barsheba Willey, who was the eld- 
est of six children born to Willis and Frances 
(Mills) AVilley, both natives of Nashville, Tenn., 
where the former was for many years a large slave- 
holder. The family early came to Illinois and 
located in Bond County, where his business as a 
fanner was only interrupted by his experience in 
the Mexican War. He went out with a Captain's 
commission and came back as a Colonel. He died 
in 1858, and his wife followed him in 1866. JNIrs. 
File was born in Pocahontas Township, in 1836. 

Our subject and his wife have been the parents 
of nine children, as follows: Columbus was 
killed wlieu but fifteen years of age, by being 
kicked liy a horse; Mary F. is the wife of Hiram 
Chestnut, a farmer who served four years in the 
late war in the Third Illinois Cavalry; George W. 
lives in Creenville; Carey F. lives in .Sorento; 
Kmma J. is the wife of John Stafford, and resides 
in iSorento; Lemuel is a clerk in the hardware 
store of S. C. Cre.ss, of Sorento; John F., Jr., Henry 
A. and Lula live at home. 

February 25, 1864, Mr. File entered the army, 
joining Company E, of the Third Illinois Cavalr}'. 
He entered the ranks at St. Louis and thence went 
to Memphis, afterward to Helena, Ark., then to 
Little Rock; in fact, was with the regiment in all 
their expeditions, fights and campaigns, including 
the expedition from Ft. Snclling, Mo., to Devil's 
Lake, Dak., and was mustered out of service at 
Ft. Snelling, October 10, 1865. On returning 



from the war, our subject rejoined his family in 
Ripley Townshii), and resumed farming operations. 
In 1867, he was appointed Deputy Sheriff of the 
county, and filled the olliec for seven years. He 
also served as Supervisor of his townsliip, mean- 
time continuing his farming until 1890, when he 
moved to Sorento, where he has since resided. He 
has a small suburban farm which claims some of 
his time and attention. He is a strong Republican 
in politics, and is an equally ardent member of the 
Grand Arm\-. He receives a pension of ^10 per 
month. 



■CD 



eOL. PAUL WALTER. Prominent among 
the active enterprises of a city like Hills- 
boro the liveiy business occupies neces- 
sarily an important place, contributing as it 
does to the pleasure, convenience and necessi- 
ties of the community. Among the most noted 
establishments of this class is that conducted by 
Col. Paul AValter, it being one of the most popular 
ones in the cit}-. The Colonel is a native of North 
Carolina, born in Cabarrus County, Octolier 3, 
1821. 

His grandfather, Paul Walter, was born in Ger- 
many and came to America when a young man. 
He .served in the Revolutionary War and was 
wounded four times. His .son, Nicholas Walter, 
the father of our subject, was born in the Old 
North State, grew to manhood there, and learned 
the millwright's trade. He was married in his na- 
tive State, to Miss Catherine Goodman, a native 
of France, who came to America with her paients 
when a child. They located in North Carolina 
and there Mrs. Walter grew to womanhood. After 
marriage, this worthy couple located in Cabarrus 
County, N. C.,and there the father passed aw.iy in 
the year 1825. After his death, or in 1838, his 
widow came to Montgomery County, 111., and lo- 
cated on a farm north of Ilillsboro, where she 
passed the remainder of her days. They were the 
parents of eight children, four sons and four 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



299 



ilaugliters, nil of whom grew up. married, find he- 
came the heads of families. Only one beside our 
sulijeet is now living, Ilenr^- .T., of Ilillsboro. 

Our subject is the youngest of this family and 
was seventeen years of age when he came to Mont- 
gomery County. 111. His first schooling was in 
North Carolina and after cdniiug to JMontgomery 
County, he attended the schools of the same. He 
remained with his niothei- and assisted on the farm 
until February 1, 1811, when he w.as married to 
jMiss Emaline Scott, a native of North Carolina 
and the daughter of Alexander Scott, also of the Old 
North State. The fruits of this union were eight 
children, four sons and four daugliters, as follows: 
(ieorge A., W. Scott, Marcilla, Illinois, Susan, 
Miller, Kstella and .lames. Following his marriage, 
ISIr. Walter located on a farm eight miles north of 
Hillslioro and was engaged in general farming un- 
til 18.50, when he was seized with the gold fever. 
He crossed the plains to California, via Salt Lake 
City, with teams, and was a resident of that Stale 
for four years. He returned liy way of the Isth- 
mus to New (Jrleans and thence to his home. 

Two months later, Mr. Walter returned to Cah^ 
fornia and two 3'eai's later returned to the East via, 
the Isthmus .and New York City. During his two 
trips to the Gold State, he made *48,(l()0. In the 
year ISfH, he enlisted in C<impany E, First Illinois 
Cavalry, as a private and was made Ca|)tain of his 
company. He was in service two years and took 
a prominent part in many of the leading engage- 
ments. He was taken inisoner by (Jen. Price and 
afterward paroled. lie then re-enlisted and was 
discharged on sjiecial order. Returning to the 
farm, he continued to till the soil until 18()7, when 
.he located m Ilillsboro, where in connection with 
the livery Imsiness he embarked in the elevator 
and grain business. He is not in the grain busi- 
ness at the present time, but devotes his whole 
time and attention to the livery Imsiness, of which 
he has made a complete success. 

In politics, our subject is a strong adherent of 
the principles of the Republican party and w.as 
]Mayor of Ilillsboro in 187:i and 1874. He was 
iilso Ahlerman for m.aiiy years and has been proini- 
iii'iitly idciitilied witli all iiiovements of note. He 
is a, member of the Masonii' fraternity-, .Mt. Moriah 




Lodge No. ;')1, Ilillsboro. and is a member of the 
Frank I). Ilubbell Post No. ;}(14, G. A. R., being 
the first commander of the same. 



=^>^^<| 



;ILLIAM KdCli.a retired lumber man of 
tiroenville, is a native of Klein, Ruden, 
(iermany. He was born IMarch 22, 1822, 
and is a son of Christian and Fredericka (iMacke) 
Koch, natives of lirunswiek, Germany. His father 
was an extensive farmer of that country and he 
and his wife spent tlieir entire lives in tlieir native 
land. They had a family of eight children, of 
whtmi three came to .\meiica. Of these .Jacob 
kicated in \an(lalia. 111., and died in Tazewell 
County; Christian was a resident of \'andalia. 111., 
until his deatli; and William. 

We now take up the perscjnal history of oursub- 
ject, who was educated in his native land and re- 
mained on the home farm until his immigration to 
America in IM'.t. He crossed the Atlantic in a 
sailing-vessel and after a tempestuous voyage of 
twelve weeks, landed in Ni'w Orleans and from 
there came up the rix'cr to St. Louis and on to 
Yandalia, III., wln^re his brother Christian was liv- 
ing. Two years afterward he purchased two hun- 
dred acres of laiul northwest of \'andalia and em- 
barked in farming, and made his home upon that 
farm for about twenty years. He then sold that 
tract and |)urcliased two hundred acres of wild land 
near Yandalia, which he transformed into rich and 
fertile fields and improved with good buildings, 
etc. Subsetjuently, he again sold out, and after a 
short residence in \'aiid.alia came to Groenvilleand 
embarked in the lumber business with .1. C. Gerichs. 
This jiartnership continued for twelve years and 
they did a largi' volume of business over an ex- 
tended territory. 

Mr. Koch was married ill \andali:i in 1851 to 
Miss Mary ,1. Walter, who died in that city. In 
18fil), h(! wasag.ain married, his second union being 
with Mi.'^s Minnie Stoll, who departed this life in 
1883. Jlr. Koch has no children of his own but 



300 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



has reared three: John Walter, who came to him 
when eijjhteen months old and under his r(>of o;re\v 
to niHiihood, and tvvo nieces Caiiic and Maggie 
Sonnmann, wlio liave lived with him from the 
ages of fourteen and six j'ears resi)ectively. 

In connection with his other business interests, 
Mr. Koch ]nirchased one hundred and sixty acres 
of land just south of the city and another tract of 
sixty acres which he has improved and has under 
a iiigh state of cultivation. He has a fine Hock of 
Shropshire sheep on the farm and owns besides a 
large amount of other stock. He laid out tlie Koch 
Addition to Greenville, in the southwest part of 
the city, and has been a prominent and intlueiitial 
citizen, wlio takes a commendable interest in all 
tiiat pertains to the welfare of the community and 
its upbuilding. 

In politics Mr. Kocli is a Republican and has held 
the office of Alderman for six years, for one year 
was City Treasiuer, and lias been one of the Direc- 
tors of the School Board fen- seven years. The 
prompt and faithful manner in vvliich lie ever dis- 
charges his public duties has led to his frequent 
re-elec'.ions, and won liim the commendation of all 
concerned. He is a faithful member of the Christian 
Church ill which he serves as a Deacon. His home 
is a fine residence in Waits Addition, and the owner 
is recognized not only as one of the wealthy but as 
one of the prominent and valued citizens of this 
coiniiiunitv. His life has been an honorable and 
upright one, wiiicii has gained him the confidence 
and respect of all with whom he has been brought 
in contact. 






WJLLIAM A. SnUPING is a member of the 
firm of Dixon A' Shupiug, who are exten- 
^ ^ sive dealers of grain at AVitt, 111. This 
firm is well and favorably known througiioul this 
section of the country, has an uii(|uestioned credit, 
and is considered (jiiite a factor in tlie market. 
Mr. Shuping was born near Salisbury, N. C, 
March 16, 1849, a son of Andrew and Polly (Cense) 



Shuping, and knows but little of the ancestry or 
early liistorv of his family further than the fact 
that they were natives of the old North State, 
where the father was an extensive and well-to-do 
planter. There is but little doubt that the Shup- 
ings were early settlers of Pennsylvania, and might 
be termed of Dutch extraction. Andrew Shuping 
and his son Henry espoused the Confederate cause 
at the opening of tlu; Civil War and were in every 
sense of the word Soutliern sympatliisers and loyal 
to Southern interests and institutions. Tlie father 
is still living in North Carolina, and tiie son Henry 
is a resident of Sumner County, Kan. 

On the typical old Southern plantation belong- 
ing to his father, the subject of this sketch was 
reared, but in his 30uth was deprived of advantages 
for securing an education, save what the eonimon 
schools afforded, liut in these he managed to ac- 
quire a practical knowledge of the common 
brandies. His early life was healthy, happy and 
free from care, but at the age of twenty-one, or in 
1870, he took ui)on his shoulders the burden of his 
own support, and began his independent career as 
a tiller of the soil in Montgomery County, 111. 
This honorable and useful employment occupied his 
undivided attention for a few years, after which 
he turned his attention to the liusiness of grain 
buying in the town of Witt, where he has built up 
a re|nitation for honesty and fair dealing which 
has gone far toward making him the successful 
man of business that he is. 

Mr. Shuping is personally held in the highest 
esteem, and is honored alike for his business quali- 
ficatums and social standing. He is a fine financier 
and holds the confidence of the best grain houses 
of his section. His career bears evidence of his 
personal worth and he is one of the leading social 
factors of the place, conspicuous for his promptness 
and energy. Through energetic management the 
house has become a well-known and well-conducted 
one and the well-ordered premises are supplied 
with all reiiuisile facilities, which enable them to 
offer special advantages to customers. 

Mr. Shuping wooed and won for his wife Mrs. 
Klleii (llobni's) Anderson, their iiiil<ui being cele- 
liratcd in .lanuary, 1880. Mrs. Slmping was born 
in England but was brought to the United States 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



301 



by her parents when a child, and in this country 
was reared to womanhood. This union lias proved 
a very liap|)y one but has nut resulted in the birth 
of an y children, ilr. Shuping lias always supported 
Democratic [)rincii)les and candidates, in which re- 
spect he follows in the footsteps of his worthy 
fatiier. lie has thorougiily identified himself witii 
the section in which he resides, and all moral j)ub- 
lic measuies wliicii commend Ihcmselves to his ex- 
cellent judgment find in him a hearty and liberal 
supporter. 



V_'^ 



^[OHN KRISEK. This intliiential farmer of 
jNIontgoniery County, like many of the other 
prominent citizens, is of foreign biitli, born 
in Ostfriesland, Hanover, Germany, June 3, 
1842. He is the fifth in order of birth aniongseven 
children born t(^i .1. 11. and .lolianna (.hicrgena) 
Keiser, both natives of the Fatherland. The father 
was a man of great mental ability and was well 
educated. He was a powerful debater, a deep rea- 
soner .and thinker, and for many years a promi- 
nent school teacher in his native land. At the 
time of the birth of our subject, he had retired to 
a farm, and on this the boyhood days of the latter 
were passed. 

Young Keiser attended the schools of his native 
country until ISal, at which date the family emi- 
grated to Amei ica, sailing from Bremen to New 
Orleans, the trij) occujiying fifty-one days. After 
touching American soil, the family proceeded at 
once to the Prairie State and located on a farm 
near Alton, Madison County, where they tilled llie 
soil for two years. From there they removed to 
Macoupin County and located near what is now 
Mt. Olive. Here the father purchased bis lii>t land 
in the Slates. He was industrious and progressive 
and was fairly successful in his undertaking. 

The advantages for receiving .■in education were 
not the best foi- our subjcrt iu ihe locality where his 
parents had settled, and it being the desire of the 



elder Mr. Keiser that his son should be a minister, 
John was under his father's tutelage preparing for 
college. In ISG.'S, ho entered the Concordia Col- 
lege of St. Louis and there diligently prosecute<l 
his studies for one year. Then it was that he 
thought the time had come for him to do something 
in defense of the flag of his ado|ited country, and, 
leaving his books and college life, lie tendered his 
services to the Union. October 12, 1864, we find his 
name on the rolls of Comiiany K, One Hundred and 
Forty-fourth Illinois Infantry, as a private. He was 
mustered in at Alton, and about thirty of his com- 
pany, including himself, were detached, mounted, 
and sent on an expedition through Central Illinois 
for the inirpose of breaking up Copperhead camps 
that were being formed in different sections. 

After a number of months in this line of duty, 
and having accomplished theii- mission, the men 
returned to Alton, but wore soon sent to St. Louis 
where for some months our subject was engaged in 
escorting and guarding prisoners, doing garrison 
duty, and guarding bridges through Missouri. The 
cora|>any had received orders and was about to 
embark f<_ir Memiibis from St. Louis when the woi d 
came that Gen. Lee had surrendered. They were 
then held in St. Louis until the first part of .Iiily, 
when they were ordered to lie discharged. This 
occurrence t<iok place on the 25tli of .Inly. As 
stated above, Mr. Keiser had entered the ranks as a 
private, but be was promoted to be Corpoi'al, then 
Commis.sary Sergeant, later to Orderly Sergeant, 
and was acting Second Lieutenant at the time of 
liis discharge. During the time he was in the army, 

j his father bad died, and upon his return to the 
parental roof he was unable to resume his studies 
at the college, being obliged to take charge of his 
father's estate. 

' In the spring of ISi'iii, Mr. Keiser came to Mont- 
gomery County and located on the farm where he 
now lives, in Houndtree Township. This he had 
purchased about two years previously, giving ^'.( 
per acre. He has been successful in all his under- 
takings and has acquired a comfortable competence. 
For a number of years past, he has not been act- 
ively engaged in fariiiiiig, prefcniiig to rent his 
land, and is now rnjoyiiig the fruits of his labor. 

I He is a man of sound sense and good judgment, 



302 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and his counsel and advice are much sought after 
among his people. Much of his time is devoted to 
the settling of estates, etc. He lias ever been a 
Republican in politics and his first Presidential 
vote was cast for Alu'aham Lincoln. Mr. Keiser 
has held the office of Township Clerk three j'ears, 
Supervisor three years, and has served as Highway 
Commissioner. Ever active in educational matters, 
he has been one of the Board of School Trustees 
for years. lie is also an active worker in the Ger- 
man Lutheran Church, of which lie has been a life- 
long member and Superintendent of the Sunday- 
school since it was first organized. For twelve 
3'ears, he has been President of the Church Board, 
and for many years served as its Secretary. He 
is a strong advocate of temperance and is a total 
abstainer. 

Mr. Keiser selected his wife in the person of 
Miss Hilka, daughter of Cornelius Croon, a pioini- 
nent German farmer of Christian County, who 
died ill 1872. Mrs. Keiser died in 1871), leaving 
two children of three born to them, one having 
died in infancy'. Miss Johanna is a young lady of 
good education and keeps house for her father. 
Cornelius, a boy of thirteen, is a studious, intelli- 
gent lad, and is now attending school. The 
mother of our subject died on the 2.Sd of Septem- 
ber, 1889, when eighty-two years of age. Of her 
seven children but two are now living, our subject 
and Martin, a wealthy farmer of Christian County, 
111. Harbert, who was a successful school teaciicr 
residing at Mt. Olive, died August 1, 1802. 



? ^^"■^-^"^-^^^'•^■*-*- 



5;MERY C. JONES, M. I). The eminent 
1^ physician whose name introduces this 
1 ^ — ^ sketch impresses even those who meet him 



in a casual way as a man wlio has drifted easily 
and naturally into the medical profession, who 
realizes that he lias made no mistake in the choice 
of liis vocation, and who feels tlioioiiglily at home 
ill the |)osition which he occiiiiies. This first 
impression deepens with a inoie intimate acquaint- 



ance, and familiarity with the history of his life 
leads to the unbiased and impartial view, that the 
splendid success which he has achieved is the 
logical sequence of talent rightly used, together 
with energj' and industry never misapplied. Dr. 
Jones has found in the study and practice of med- 
icine an occupation more congenial to his tastes 
than anything else could possibly have been; he 
could not have taken up any other calling with- 
out doing violence to the dominant instincts of 
his nature, and he is devoted above all else to his 
profession. 

Dr. Emery C. Jones was born in Owen County, 
Ind., November 7, 1853, and in that State he was 
reared to mature years. His parents, Jesse and 
Sarah (Crow) Jones, were natives of Indiana, and 
the mother is still a resident of Owen County. 
Our subject received his primary education in the 
schools of Spencer, Ind., and supplemented this by 
attending the Valparaiso Normal School during 
the greater part of three years. He pursued what 
is called the Teachers' Course, both classical and 
scientific, at different periods for about four terms, 
and afterward taught in the public schools of 
Owen County, Ind. When about twenty-three 
years of age, he began reading medicine with Drs. 
Evans and Matsoii. of Greencastle, Ind., and re- 
mained with them for about one year. Believ- 
ing in the profession and feeling himself fitted to 
meet the requireihents, none of the numerous ob- 
stacles which he found from time to time in his 
pathway were allowed to more than tem[iorarily 
check his prcigress towards the goal of his ambi- 
tion. 

In the year 1878, our suliject entered Jefferson 
Medical College at Philadelphia, and attended one 
preliminary and one regular course. Afterward, 
he entered the medical department of the Uni- 
versity of Louisville, Ky., and was graduated from 
that institution in 188(). During the same year, 
he came to Montgomery County, 111., and located 
where he now resides. In 1889, he took the full 
course, j)ost-gradiiate, at the jNIedical School of 
New York City, and afterward returned to Mont- 
gomery Coiiiily, wiiere he entered upon his work 
thoroughly e(|uippe(l and fully prepared to meet 
any professional demands that might be made 




1;^ 




->. 


'// 


> 


^1 


/ 




\ 






/^' i 











PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 



30.'^ 



upon him. This is attested l)v the fact tiiat siic- 
ci'ss attended his efforts from tiie start, and, al- 
tlioiigh i)i'actieally a self-made man, he has won 
an honoralile |iosit,ion amonu' the professiimal men 
of the count\-. 

The original of this notice is a nienilier of 
]\Iacou|iin County Medical Society and his name 
occupies a [jrominent [ilace on the rolls of the 
niedii'al men of Montgomery and surrounding 
counties. He married Miss Henrietta Terry, 
daughter of Robert and Ann (Morell) Terry, I»otii 
natives of Macoupin County, 111. To Dr. and 
Mrs. Jones have heen born two children, Mabel 
(deceased), and Lola. The Doctor is the owner of 
one hundred and fifteen acres of land and is one 
of the sub>tantial and [irogressive men of the 
county. In politics, he is an ardent Republican 
and is now serving as Central Coininittcenian of 
tlie county. Socially, he is a member of the Ma- 
sonic fraternitv at Virdeii, 111. 



mj 



=^^ 



'if'oHN NEWPORT. ISIontgomery County 
iias won an envialile reputation as a prosper- 
ous farming community, and this reputa- 
_ tion has been acquired through the enter- 
prise and energy of such agriculturists as Mr. 
Newport. He has been prominently identified 
with tlie development of the county and with its 
advancement in every worthy particular, and has 
discharged the duties of a number of township of- 
fices in a very satisfactory and creditable manner. 
He was Supervisor of Bois D" Arc Township for a 
number of years, and is one of the most useful men 
of the cominunity. A i)romiiient and useful citi- 
zen, the county (iwes its prosperity to just such 
men as lie. 

Mr. Newportclaiins Ohio as his native State, and 
was })Orn in Preble County, September .30, 1824. 
He is the son f)f Thomas and Sarah (Biggs) New- 
port, natives of Pennsylvania. One of his uncles, 
JamesT. Newport, was a Captain in the Warof IHI'2. 
Our subject was reared to mature years in his na- 



tive State, and from an early age has been engaged 
in tilling the .soil, an occupatif)n wliich has brought 
him substantial returns. He secured a good prac- 
tical educ:iti<in in the |iublic schools of Preble 
C'ouiity, and later he attendecl private schools 
there, thus securing a good education for iiis time 
and ilay. l''or liftecn years aftei'ward he engaged 
in teaching school, [irincipally in Preble C^ounty, 
but he also taught in Morgan, Sangamon and Pike 
C'ounties, 111. 

Aliout 1854, I\Ir. New|)ort located in the Prairie 
State, and in the sjiringof 18(18 he came to Mont- 
gomery County, settling on a firm in Hois D" Arc 
Towii'^hip, where he improved one hundred and 
sixty acres of land. At that time his farm was all 
praii'ie land, l)ut he went to work with much energy 
and sc^ion had it under cultivation. As the years 
passed away many improvements were made, until 
now this farm is one of the model estates of the 
county. On this, iMr. Newport resided until De- 
cember, 1891, when he removed to Farmersville, 
and there he has resided since. For several years 
he served as Justice of the I'eace and School 
Trustee and discharged the duties incumbent n))on 
these positions in a very siitisfactory and ca|)able 
manner. He also served as Supervisor of Bois D' 
Arc Township for three years, and during the last 
year he was in that p<isition he served as Chairman 
of the Board. 

On the 29th of March, 18,').'), Miss Klizaheth M. 
McCormick, a native of Nicholas County, Ivy., born 
September 9, 1831, and the daughter of John and 
Jane W. (Lockridge) McCormick, became the wife 
of oui- subject. Her parents were iKirn in the Blue 
Grass State, and her gr;uid father McCormick, who 
was a gunsmith by trade, it is said, made guns for 
the i;e\dlutionary soldiers. Her uncle, Waller 
McCormick, was a soldier in the War of 1812. 
When three \ears of age, Mrs. Newport came with 
her parents to Morgan County, 111., and there 
grew to womanhood. She received her education 
in this county and subsequently taught school for 
a time. I>'or two tcrni'^ she attended the Presl)yter- 
iaii College at Jackson ville, and is a lady of much 
more than average intelligence. Three children 
have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Newport, as fol- 
lows: Mary . I., wife <if Lafayette (ierhard; Clial- 



14 



306 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



mers L., and Emma V., wife of James McCormick. 
These children have been well educated and are 
prominent and useful citizens. 

In his i)olitical views our subject is a stanch 
Reiniblican, and takes much interest in political 
matters. He and iiis wife are classed among the 
intelligent members of society, are well known 
throughout the county', and are high!}- esteemed 
by ever^- one. Mrs. Newport is identified with the 
Presbyterian Church, .and devotes much of iier 
time to charitable and worthj' enterprises. 



i-^i-i^: 



i.mm3^-^ 






^17 EWIS W. .JORDAN. The gentleman whose 
I 1^ name is at tiie head of this sketch is one 
JIL^ ^ of the old settlers of Ilarvel Township, and 
his fine farm located on section 8 siiows that lie 
has given to it the constant care of years. Mr. 
Jordan is a native of Maryland and was there 
born April 28. 1833. lie is a son of William and 
Catherine (Kummel) Jordan, the former a native 
of Pennsylvania and the latter of ISIaryland. At 
a ver3' early age he, in company with his parents, 
migrated to Trumbull County, Ohio; that con- 
tinued to be the family home for several years 
and then tiiey came to Greene County, this 
State, making the exodus in 1843. After a resi- 
dence there of one year, the family moved to 
Montgomery County and settled on the farm on 
which our subject now lives, in Harvel Township. 
Our suliject's father, William Jordan, entered 
one hundred and twenty acres of land from the 
Government at the time of coming here, paying 
for it $1.25 per acre. lie also had a soldier's 
grant of forty acres, having served in the War of 
1812. At that time the countr}' was one vast 
rolling prairie, unbroken for miles by the plow 
and having but few landmarks l)eside those placed 
l)y nature. The nearest dwelling was a distance 
of four niil<;s. Much of the family history has 
idready been given in the sketch of Alpheus C. 
.Jordan, a younger brother of our subject, and for 
a more minute and detailed account of the same 
we refer the reader to it, 



After completing a course at the district school, 
our subject was sent to the High School of 
Greene County. Although he received what was at 
that time a fair education, it would at the present 
time be lightly considered. However, natural 
ability has greatly' aided our subject in covering 
the defects that are to be found in the old system 
of education. 

Mr. Jordan was married on the 28th of May, 
18G3, Miss Mary F. Hussell becoming his wife. 
She was a native of the Iloosier State and a 
daughter of Thom.as and Sarah Russell, now resi- 
dents of Montgomery County. By this marriage 
he has become the father of nine children. Of 
these Albert W. is deceased. Following him are 
Thom.as W., Lewis R., David D.; Florence, wife of 
David Bonnett; Edna, Ethel, Rebecca and Alma. 
Although the size of his family has required the 
most constant efforts in order to provide for all 
their daily wants, it certainly has had its charms, 
and home would not be home without the merry 
banter in which the children indulge. Our sub- 
ject is the owner of one hundred and three acres 
of land, all of which is under a high degree of 
cultivation. 

AVith few advantages other than what he has 
himself made, Mr. Jordan is a highly respected 
and honorable man. Politically the tenets of the 
Republican party appeal to his sense of justice and 
equitj'. He h.as been a close observer of the 
growth of this portion of the State for man}' years 
and can recall many tyincal scenes and business 
transactions. 



/ 



E*SS* 




1 1 



M. HARTSOCK. Up to a comjiaratively 
recent date no important change had been 
made in milling machinery invented and 
rought into use about the time of the ado|>tion 
of the Federal constitution by Oliver Evans, of 
Pennsylvania. But in this as in other de- 
partments of industry Anierican inventive gen- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



307 



ins saw opportunity fur iinprovemeiit, and as 
a result tlie gradual reduction process, or, as it 
is known, the roller .s^'Stem, was introduced. 
This has produced so great a change tlial at 
the present day tliis system is adoi)ted by all 
leading and prosjieious mills in the country. 
Among those milling enter()iises which have se- 
cured conspicuousness on account of the uniform 
excellence of their products, we nf)tice especially 
the Nokomis Roller Blills, whose proprietor, L. M. 
Hartsock, is one of the rei)resentative liusiness 
men of the place. 

Mr. Ilart^ock was horn neai- .lohnsvillc. Fred- 
erick County, Md., November '.1, 184 1, and is 
a son of Nicholas Hartsock, who was a native of 
the Keystone State, luit an early settler of Fred- 
erick County, ]\Id. The latter was a farmer 
but also followed the trade of a mason. When 
but four years of age our subject was left an or- 
phan, and as a consequence he knows very little 
of his ancestors on either side. When his mother 
died he was sent among strangers and grew to 
rugged manhood on a farm, receiving very little 
schooling, perhaps one or two months in a .year, 
and that by going a distance of twn and a-half 
miles each day to school. Under these circumstances 
his early life was not a pleasant or happy one. 

When eighteen years of age, young Hartsock 
entered a flouring mill near Middlebui-g, Md., to 
learn the trade of a miller, and there he remained 
for about two >ears and a-half. After this he en- 
tered a mill at New Windsor, where he was fore- 
man for about a year. After this he came to Illi- 
nois, was emj)loyed in a mill at Staunton for a year, 
then in 181)7 he rented a mill at Bunker Iliil, III., 
and operated it for one year. From there he went 
to Waterloo and was one of a company that oper- 
ated a mill, and it was a"Waterloo" indeed, for the 
great decline in wheat, from $2.50 to IK) cents per 
bushel, caused a suspension and the loss of all 
lie had. Not daunted in the least ho went to 
work again, and from that time until the spring of 
1872 he worked in different nulls. At that date 
he came to Nokomis to work in the mill of K. A. 
Cooley ife Co., but in 1873 this firm failed and the 
mill was shut down. 

Soon after, hovyever, Mi'. I l.-iitsock and a Mr, 



Hobson made arrangements to rent and f>pei- 
ate tlie mill, and later on they purchased 
the plant. They prospered from the start and 
the iiartucishi|"> continued until the death of 
Mr. Ilobsou in 1883, at which time our subject 
liecame the sole proprietor. Jn 1888 the old mill 
burned down ,-ind in 188i) JMr. Hartsock in cnm- 
|)any with 15. F. .Mc(;rew completed the tine, new 
one hundred and lift,y barrel roller mill, of which 
he is sole [irciprietor, having purchased his partner's 
interest in .lanuary. 18i)2. He has quite a large 
trade from New England and New York as well as a 
largedirect export business. After the many misfc)r- 
tunes of early youth, Mr. Hartsock is well deserv- 
ing the large degree of [irosperily he is now en- 
jiiVLiig. All he has accumulated is the rcsulfuf 
his own good, energetic qualities, and he is ihjw 
very comfortably otf in life. In politics, he has 
ever been a Republican, and socially he is a Mas- 
ter and Chapter Mason. He married in 18()8 
Miss Frances A. Cooley, a native of Indiana, and 
this union has been blessed by the birth of four 
children: Margaret at home; Arthur L., in his 
father's mills; Robert L. and Ethel, both now at- 
tending the public schools. 



-SI 



^+^[ 



\J^ ASCAL C. ABELL. A [.lain statement of 

I jY the facts embraced in the life of i\Ir. Aliell, 
'^ <-' a man well and favorably known to the 

II people of IMontgomery C(.)unty. is all that 
we jirofcss to be alile to give in this volume. Yet, 
upon ex;unination of these facts, there will be 
found the career of one whose entire course 
thniugh the world has been marked by great hcin- 
esty and lidelity of purpo.se. lie has followed the 
active and industrious life of a faruu-r all his life, 
and has met with substantial I'esults in this occu- 
pation, owning now a tine farm in Witt Township. 

Our subject was the elilest of a family of seven 
children, his birth occvn-ring noli far from Spring- 
field, Sangamon County, I II., May 1.'), 18;M. His par- 
ents, .1, H. and Adeline (l)erly) -\bell, were natives 



308 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



of Kentucky and Tcnness.ee, respectively. The 
great-grandfather of our subject was a native of 
Wales, and came to America at a period antedat- 
ing tlie Revolutionary War. He settled in Vir- 
ginia, and there tlie grandfather of our subject, 
Josliua Abell, was born. J. II. Abell was born in 
1801, and came to Illinois in 1827, locating on the 
liicn wild i)rairies of Sangamon County. He was 
one of tlie pioneers of the county, and was very 
active in its improvement. In 1840, he came to 
Montgomery County, and for some time was en- 
gaged in mercantile pursuits. His death occurred 
ou a farm in I?ond County in 1863. He was a 
man whose ui)rightness and lionesty of purpose 
were well known, and who was universally re- 
spected. His wife was the daughter of Jehu Derlj', 
who came to Sangamon County, 111., before the 
Black Hawk War, and who had a brother killed in 
tiiat war. 

Pascal C. Aliell grew to nianlmod, as did tlie 
sons of otlier pioneer settlers, with but limited 
educational advantages, but being naturally an 
apt scliolar, he obtained a fair knowledge of the 
different branches, and even now, wlieii nearly 
sixty years of age, he can in a very sliort space of 
time memorize a chapter in the Bible. During the 
fore part of the late war he was farming in Bond 
County, and on the 26th of November, 1864, he 
enlisted in Company D, Forty -seventh Illinois In- 
fantry, as a private, and was at once .sent to the 
front. He was on many hard marclies, and was on 
garrison duty most of the time. He was on de- 
tached duty at the fall of Ft. Blakely, on the 
march from Jlobile to Montgomery, and suffered 
greatly during this trying period, being obliged 
to inarcii and sleep in the rain. He contracted a 
clironic disease, from wliicli lie still suffers. 

Our subject, was discharged at Montgomery, 
Ala., November 27, 1865, and returned to his farm 
in Bond County, where he made his home until 
1867. In that jear he came to tlie place wliere he 
now lives, in Witt Townsiiip, and here lie lias a 
productive and well-cultivated farm. He has ac- 
cumulated a snug fortune by his industry and strict 
adiierencc to his chosen calling, lias a comfortable 
and attractive home, and is surrounded by all the 
comforts and conveniences of life, In his politi- 



cal views, he supports the Democratic party, and 
has held a number of local positions. He was a 
memlier of the County Board of .Supervisors for 
eight years. Justice of the Peace for two terms. 
Assessor of his township, and for thirteen years 
was a ScIkioI Trustee. He is a member of Nokomis 
Post, (i. A. K. 

On the 14th of January, 18.55, our subject mar- 
ried Miss P. M. Lynn, who was born in P'ayette 
County, III., and they iiave had three children, one 
of whom died when a child; Albert Jefferson mar- 
ried Miss Sarah F. Harris, and is in liusincss at Fill- 
more, this State; and Mary Ronta Belle became 
tiie wife of R. J. Fish, a farmer of Fayette County. 



^ ^ ill'^@l ^ 1^^ 



ESSE JIcADAMS. This name is one of the 
oldest and most honored in Bond Couiityi 
HI. It was borne by the grandfather of 
our subject, who was one of the very first 
settlers and did much for the early development 
of this part of the State. Our subject is the owner 
of over one hundred acres of fine land, and is a 
worthy representative of his ancestor. 

The name of Jesse was bestowed upon our sub- 
ject at the time of his birth, April 28, 1847, on this 
farm, that being the family name, his father and 
grandfather having borne it. Both the father and 
grandfather were natives of Kentuck}', although 
the latter's immediate ancestors had come to this 
country from Scotland and Ireland. In the new 
territory opened for settlement, where the Indian, 
wolf and deer still found a home, came the fatiiilj- 
of Grandfather McAdams in a great wagon, with 
their household effects, to settle on the tract of 
Government land which he had taken up, A log 
cabin was erected on the edge of the timber on 
what now is section .Tl, in this township, and in 
this lonely spot the pioneer life went on. Here 
was developed a tine farm, but under many dilli- 
culties. There were no road.s at that time, and 
often tlie Indian trails were dangerous and almost 
impa.ssable, but the produce had to be marketed 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



30i) 



atSt. Louis, a distance of four days' travel, and 
from this place iiad to come tlie luxuries whicli 
the pi<5neers seldom allowed themselves. The 
l)recious ''store tea," which in sickness took tlie 
place of sassafras or siige, was one of the coveted 
articles wliicli it was ditlicult to procure. 

Tlie rugged old man who braved so many dan- 
gers and paved the w.ay for the footsteps of his de- 
scendants, was suppcu'ted by a faith that taught him 
to labor and live righteously, and his reward 
would come in another world. A firm Presbyterian, 
his house w.as given to the members of that belief 
who had settled near enough to attend services 
when some missionary came into the neighborhood. 
In his political f;iith he was a Democrat, and the 
principles of that party were ever dear to him. 

The father of our subject had his experience of 
jiionecr life, as he w.as only a Imy wdien he w.as 
lirought into the new country to find a home. Me 
learned the car|ieiiter's trade, and some of the 
large buildings now standing in (Treenville testify 
to his workmanship. His amusement in youth was 
to shoot deer as they fled bj' his home, and never 
was there any scarcity of game in the house, as his 
musket was often used for tlie pleasure of hunting. 
Like his father, he grew into a man of great firm- 
ness of character, and altlmugli he was a peaceable 
citizen he insisted always on ins rights. At his 
death, at the age of forty-five years, he was the 
owner of four hundred acres of land. The mother 
of our subject, was IMizabeth Williamson, who was 
a native of Bowling (4reen, Ky., and came here 
with her Grandfather IMcAdams. She became tlie 
mother of nine children, of whom four are yet 
living, namely: Nancy, Catherine, Hiram and Jesse. 
She died when over seventy years of age, in the 
faith of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, of 
which she had been a consistent member for many 
years. 

Our subject was reared on the farm and at- 
tended the log schoolhouse which was nearest his 
home, and there he learned nil that the teacher 
could impart. There were not many luxuries in 
the school buildings of that day, but upon theslab 
benches sat many of the lads who beeame in after 
years the most prominent and powerful men in 
the State. The loss of his father our subject did 



not realize, as he was only a baby of five months. 
At the age of fifteen years he had to gv out to bat- 
tle with the world by himself, and his first attempt 
at work was by the day. and then he began farm- 
ing upon the home place. On .Tunc 21, 18G8, he 
was united in marriage with Mi.ss Louisa Long, 
whiise death occurred one year later. His second 
marriage took place October 7, 1872, when Miss 
Leonora Durant became his wife. She was born 
in Ohio, near the city of Columbus. 

(_)nr subject is a man of means, owning a farm 
of one liundred and twenty-live acres of land, all 
of which is improved except six acres, wliicli he 
has in timber. He has been a grain farmer and 
has handled stock also. The present neat frame 
residence was built in 187!) and here he has made 
a great many imprf)venient,s. Loth JL-. McAdams 
and his wife are members of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church of (ireenville. In pf)lilics, he is a Pro- 
hibitionist, and believes that in that reformatory 
party lies the redemptidu of the country. The 
^lodern Woodmen is the order witli wliicli he has 
connected himself, and in this body at Cireenville 
lie is regarded with much esteem. 



Ip^jOBERT BLACKBLRN. A history of any 
|ll><f community, large or small, is made up to n 
^ \V greater or less extent of the lives of its 
citizens, and it is apparent to any intelli- 
gent observer that the history of Montgomerv 
Count}' is only such as has been made by those 
who have been identified with its development 
from an early period. Among that class of [)io- 
neers we cannot fail to make mention of Robert 
Blackburn, for his residence within tlie borders of 
the county has extended over a period of fifty- 
four years, and he h.as been so prominenllv asso- 
ciated with its material progress and development, 
that it is hut just to number him among the hon- 
ored few now living who were brave enough to 
open the way for civilization. The occupation of 



310 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



a farmer has been his calling, and his career from 
an liumble beginning in life to the present posi- 
tion wliich he occupies is one of honorable ascent, 
and reflects great credit upon him. lie was born 
in Loudoun County, Va., March 29, 1S18, a son of 
Tiiomas and Sarah (Ball) Blackburn, who were 
born, reared and married in the Old Dominion, 
tiie mother's death oi-curring when the subject of 
this sketch was eigliteen months old. The father 
was called from life at Dayton, Ohio, when about 
seventy-three years old. 

The parents of our subject had ten children- 
five sons and five daughters — all of whom grew to 
maturity, married and reared families. Of this 
family only three sons are novv living, and Robert 
is the youngest, lie came with a brother to Mont- 
gomery County, 111., in 1838, and after remaining 
with him for about three years began to do for 
himself. On the 1st of March, 1846, he was mar- 
ried to Miss Sarah Ann, daughter of William and 
Margaret (Bodkin) Fuller. She was born in Clarke 
County, Ohio, January 2,1826, and was there reared 
and educated. 

Mr. Blackburn located on the farm where he 
now resides immediatel}' after his marriage, at 
which time there were no improvements whatever 
on the place. He at once built a frame house 
containing three rooms, and made otlier substan- 
tial and valuable improvements, and at the pres- 
ent time it would be difficult to find a neater or 
l)etter tilled farm of one hundred and sixty acres 
tlian tiiat of which he is the owner. Besides this 
land, he owns forty acres of land in East Fork 
Township, making in all two hmidred acres, and 
some valuable houses and lots in Hillsboro. He 
was in debt when he started out in life for him- 
self, but by continued application, push and econ- 
omy he soon discharged his obligations. He and 
his worthy wife are the parents of one child, a son, 
William L., who is residing at Grant's Pass, Ore. 

Mr. Blackburn has found a profitable source of 
revenue in the cultivation of the rich soil of Illi- 
nois, but could hardly fail to succeed as an agri- 
culturist, for from the very first he was carefully 
tauglit every detail connected with farming. In 
the conduct of his estate he has given each por- 
tion of the work his personal attention, and the 



care and method ever exercised have contributed 
to place him among the foremost farmers of the 
vicinity, as he is one of its most intelligent citi- 
zens. Politically, he has always supported Repub- 
lican i)rinciples, and for many years has been a 
mcmlier of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 
of which he was at one time Deacon. 



•^•t- 



=^^>-^^<i 



fl>~ 



■5— 



"illOHN W. YOUNG. The agricultural inter- 
ests of Montgomery Count}' are ably repre- 
sented by the subject of this sketcii, a man 
whose life has been passed in the calling 
which now receives his attention. He is a native- 
born resident of the county, his birth occurring on 
the 18th of July, 1834, and has witnessed the 
complete growth of the country. He has ever 
been an active supporter of all laudable enterprises 
and is one of the county's best men. He is a son 
of William Young, who for many years was one 
of the esteemed and respected citizens of Mont- 
gomerj' County. 

Our subject was the second in order of birth of 
the children born to his parents and passed his 
boyhood and youth in his native county, assisting 
his father in cultivating the soil, thus becoming 
familiar with all the details of farm life at an 
early age. Like the majority of country boys, he 
received his education in the district school and 
remained witii his parents until twenty-one years 
of age. At that age he began business for him- 
self, but worked the farm for his father, and 
bought stock, traded horses, branching out as a 
stock-dealer. In March, 1864, he was married to 
Miss Mary E. Brown, a native of East Fork Town- 
ship, Montgomery County, and the daughter of 
Harrison Brown. 

Following his marriage, our subject located on 
the farm where he now lives. He is now the 
owner of six hundred and twenty-seven acres of 
land, all under cultivation except a portion which 
is in ])asture. On this place he has a neat resi- 
dence and substantial outbuildings. He has ever 



PORTRAIT AND BIOfTRAPHlCAL RECORD. 



311 



been identified with the best interests of the 
eoiinty, :ui(l his inlelligiMH'e, enterprise and niiiny 
estimable (lualities liave acquired for him u popu- 
larity not derived from any factitious circum- 
stance, but a spontaneous and iiermanent tril)nte 
to his merit. lie ships stock to all parts of the 
country, and annually sends out seventy-five car- 
loads of cattle, horses and hoi's. At the present 
time, he has ninely-Mve head of cattle and many 
liorses and hogs. He is the oldest stock-buyer in 
tiie county, and ships largely to Buffalo, St. l.ouis, 
Pittsburgh .and Cleveland. He slii|)s about twenty 
carloads of hay per year, and is one of the most 
thorough-going, wide-awake agriculturists of his 
section. His present residence, a two-story frame 
building, was erected in 1870, and eveivthing 
about the place indicates that a practiced hand is 
at the helm. 

IVIr. and Mrs. Young were the i)arents of three 
sons and one daughter, as follows; William H., 
Clement (deceased), (iertie and t)rvil B. The 
three surviving children are at home. Mr. Young 
has passed his entire life in this county, and here, 
surrounded by peace and iilenty, and with his 
children near, he will [lass the remainder of his days. 
He and his wife have contributed liberally to all 
worthy enterprises and are among the most influ- 
ential and respected citizens in the community. 
In |iolitics. he is a Democrat, and a strong sup- 
porter of his jiarty. He has held many public 
offices, among them those of Supervisor of East 
Fork Township and School Director. He is a 
member o( Donnellson Lodge No. 2.55, A. V. & 
A. M., and takes an active interest in that order. 



^•{••{••S"!' 



.^^..j.^.^ 



'•!"5"5"{-^^'-i-**+f 



^^EOROE II. MUELLER, a wealthy and well- 
Ill ^ — ; known farmer of R.aymond, Montgomery 
^^jJll County, was born in Frankf(jrt on-the- 
Main, Germany, April 7, 18.'5(j. and is a son of 
John Frederick and Doiothea Mueller. The lat- 
ter 's father was a gardener, and died about a 
month before the birth of our subject, (ieorge is 



the youngest of six children, five sons and a 
daughter, who, with one exception, are yet living. 

Our suliject attended school in his native land 
until fourteen yeai's c)f age, and, being an ajit 
scholar, acquired a gcx.id education. He was then 
apprenticed to the blacksmith's trade, aiul served a 
term of three years, after which he followed that 
occupation for a year in his native land. In LSyf 
he came to America and joined his brother, .lohn 
Fred, who had preceded him some five years, and was 
living oil a farm near Belleville, 111. George 
worked in his eiiqilov fc>r three years, and uiKtn 
the expiration of that time went to St. Louis and 
worked at his trade in a carriage factory for some 
3'ears. There we find him at the breaking out of 
the Civil War, but at the first call of his adopted 
country for troops he I'romptly responded, and on 
the 22(1 of .\pril, 18G1, his name was enrolled 
among the boys in blue of Company f!, First 
Missouri \'olunteer Infantry. 

Two days later Mr. Mueller was c<)mniissioned 
Sergeant of his company. He participated in the 
bloody battle of Wilson's Creek, where the regi- 
ment suffered greatly. The troops then returned 
to St. Louis, and were re-organized as the First 
Missouri .\rtillery. Mr. Mueller took part in the 
Fremont cami)aign through Missouri. He also 
[larticipated in the battle of New Madrid, the 
capture of Island No. 10, and was in the siege of 
Corinth, the battles of Perrysville, Nashville and 
Chickamauga, and was in Starvation Camp at 
Chattanooga from September 1!), 18(;.'}, until .June 
10, 1864, when he was discharged, having served 
three years. During all this lime he was ever at 
his post. Never for one day was he ofl duty (lur- 
ing' the whole time of his service. The last year 
he held the ollice of (Quartermaster Sergeant. 

After his discharge Mr. .Mueller [irocured a [lass- 
port and made a visit to his native country, 
where he remained until the spring of LSti.j, when 
he once more came Uj Illinois and again worked 
on his brother's farm for three years. On the 22d 
of April, 186',), he married Miss Christina Lotlz, a 
German lady. Three children have lieen bcnn of 
their union: .lohn Fred, (ieorge Henry and Annie 
Maggie, agecL resi)ectivel_\', tweut\-two, twent\'- 
one and twenty years, all of whom are still under 



312 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the parental roof. The Mueller household is tlie 
abode of hosiiitality, and the members of the 
family rank liigli in social circles. 

Immediately' after his marriage Mv. Mueller 
began farming on his own account near Carlin- 
ville, where he remained for one j'ear, and then 
he rented a farm in Zanesville, Montgomery 
County, where he resided until 1879, in which 
year he came to Raymond and purchased the fine 
and extensive farm on which he now resides. lie 
is one of the leading farmers and stock-raisers of 
tlie comraunit}', and has been vevy successful in 
his efforts, until now he is numbered among the 
county's most prominent and substantial citizens. 
In politics he was identified with the Republican 
party until about two years ago, wlien he joined 
the Democracy. He and his family arc members 
of the German Lutheran Church. 



*^DOLPHE BREUCHAUD is a dealer in 
grain and coal in Greenville, Bond 




County, and one of its leading business 
men. For a number of years he has 
been connected with its interests and the com- 
munity recognizes in him one of its best citizens, 
lie is widely known throughout the county and 
we feel assured tluit this record of his life will 
prove of interest to many of our readers. 

Mr. Breuchaud was born in Switzerland, March 
3, 1833, and is a son of David and Mary (Cuche) 
Breuchaud, wlio were also natives of Switzerland. 
The grandfather, Samuel Breiicliaiid, was also born 
in that country, but iiis ancestors were of French 
lineage, having been driven from France on ac- 
count of religious persecutions. David Hreucliaud 
immigrated with his family to America in the year 
1849, landing in New Orleans, whence he made 
his way up tlie river to Illinois. He located first 
in Higliiand, Madison County, where he engaged 
in farming, liaving inirciiased one iiundred and 
eighty acres of partially improved land, lie 



made his home upon that farm until 1865, then 
sold out and came to Bond County, and located 
in Greenville, where he lived retired until his 
death in 1888, at the age of eighty-two years. The 
mother died in Madison County at the age of 
fifty-eight 3'ears. The}- had a family of seven 
sons and five daughters, of whom ten are yet liv- 
ing. 

Adoli)lie Breuchaud, whose name heads this rec- 
ord, was highly educated in Switzerland; he also at- 
tended college in Germany for a year, and during 
vacations engaged in teaching. He was sixteen 
years of age when he came with his parents to 
America. During the first five j'ears of his ar- 
rival he worked at farming, and after locating in 
Greenville followed any occupation that he could 
secure, whereby he might earn an honest dollar. 
He also learned the trades of a carpenter, brick- 
la3'er and plasterer and afterward engaged in bus- 
iness as a contractor and builder. He was very 
successful in this line and often employed as many 
as ten men. For fourteen years he carried on 
business as a contractor, and many of the build- 
ings in this city and surrounding country stand as 
monuments to his handiwork and enterprise. 

It was in 185.5 that Mr. Breuchaud was united 
in marriage to Miss Rose Giron, of Switzerland, 
and unto them have been born four sons and a 
daughter, as follows: Heniy, John, Robert, Dud- 
ley and Ada. The family is one of prominence 
in this community and its members rank high in 
social circles. 

In 1870 Mr. Breuchaud began dealing in grain, 
and in 1880 purchased two and three-fourths 
acres of land bordering on the Vandalia Railroad, 
where he built an elevator, and then purchased 
another, for ^3,500, after which he spent about 
$1,500 in repairs. These are run by a forty-horse 
power engine and have a capacity of eighty 
thousand bushels of wheal. He is doing an excel- 
lent business and fiirnislios emploj'ment to four 
men besides his two sons. He lias built a fine of- 
fice on Main Street and in addition to this and 
liis home property owns a farm which lie rents. 
In politics he is a stalwart Republican, and is a 
meiiiherof the Plymouth Chuich. Mr. Biciicliaud 
is truly a self-made man. who by his own Indus- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



315 



trious eftVuts ami strict attention to business lias 1 
steadily worked liis waj' ni)ward to a jjosition of 
wealth and allhuMiee. He is a man of unswerving 
honesty, wliose word is as good as his bond, j 
and the eonfidenee of the entire eommunity is 
his. 




APT. GEORGE M. SANDERS. In the 
peaceful agricultural life which our suliject 
now leads there is little suggestion of the 
military deeds of merit by whii'h he earned his 
Captain's commission; only in the title will the 
stranger know that he is a veteran of the late war. 
]\Ir. Sanders was liorn in Maryland, .lanuaiy IS, 
1830. He was the eldest of a family of nine chil- 
dren born to Henry L. and Mary (Hall) Sanders. 
Our subject'^ father was of German ancesUw 
and was born in Maryland, Jlay 5, 1810. His 
maternal grandfather served in the War of 1812, 
and was also in the battle of New Orleans. His 
mother, Maiy Hall, was of Irish extraction. Aside 
from these brief facts but little is known of the 
early history of these families. In 1837, when 
our subject was a boy of but seven years, his par- 
ents made their way to Illinois and settled in what 
is now .lersey County. There young Sanders 
grew up much the same in his habits and the 
manner of rearing as other farmer lads. The in- 
tervals of attendance at school were Riled with 
farm duties and such pioneer sports as the fertile 
minds of the young people of that day could sug- 
gest. Of his brothers and sisters only three are liv- 
ing. They are: Samuel K., who served in the late 
war for three ^years, and who now lives in Cali- 
fornia; ,Iesse W., who gave his country one \ear's 
service, and who lives now at Atwater, III.; and 
Sarah A., who is the wife of .lolin B. Kirkland, of 
Litchfield. 

About 1850, our subject's parents with then- 
household effects and their children went to Mont- 
gomery County and located on the farm where T. 
T. Smith now lives, two miles southwest of the 
village of Walshville. There the parents died, the 



father February 28, 1863, and the mother .January 
8, 1864, both deaths occurring while the Cai)tain 
was lighting for the honor of the country which 
his forefathers had fought to organize as a free and 
independent nation. It was on the aliove-nained 
farm in A\'alstiville that onr subject was tilling 
the soil when tlie war broke out. On the lirst call 
for troo|)s, he tendered his services, but as so many 
eagerly sprang forwaid in answer to the three 
months' call, some were rejected and he was 
among the number. On the second call, August 
2, 18(!1, we lind his name on the roll of ('ompan_v 
L, of the Third Illinois Cavalry, Col. E. A. Carr's 
regiment, and was at once made (Quartermaster- 
Sergeant, and in Octiiber, 18(12, was promoted to 
the ollice of Orderly-Sergeant. Later, he was 
commissioned Second Lieutenant and in June, 
1M63, he was ailvanced to First Lieutenant, and in 
May, 18()5, he was [iromoted to the rank of Ca|)- 
tain of his company. 

Capt. Sanders was with ('en. Fremont in the 
Soutiiwcst in the fall of 1801, and with Gen. 
Curtis' army at Pea Ridge in Jlarch, 18(12. He 
was detached from his regiment with part of his 
company in Central Missouri from .luiy to ()ct()- 
lier, 1802. .and with the command of Col. S. H. 
Boyd was eng.aged in scouting with (ien. Sher- 
man's army in his attack on and defeat of Hayes 
Bluff in the rear of Vicksburg. In January, 1803, 
he w.as detailed in his coinpan\' as escort foi- Head- 
quarters, Thirteenth Army Cor[is, where he re- 
mained through the siege and capture of Vicks- 
burg and Jackson, Miss., and the battles of Champ- 
ion Hills and Black River Bridge. He was with 
Gen. Banks' army in Louisiana fiom Ociolier, 
180.S, to January, 1804, and at Memphis, Tcnn., 
when (4en. Forrest made his memorable raid. After 
going with his command to Ft. Snelling in the 
Northwest and from tliere on the Devil's Lake ex- 
pedition in Dakota, he vyas finally discharged, 
October 1(1, 18(!5, after having served his country 
with markeil distinction for more than four years. 

August 13, 1803, while home on a leave of 
absence from the army, onr subject was married to 
Miss Eveline Maryman, who was a native of this 
State. Of the seven children born of this union 
six are now living. Marcia A. died when two 



316 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



years of age; Nora B. is engaged in the millinery 
business at Salein, 111.; William Clialmers is a grad- 
uate of tiie .Jacksonville Business College and is 
now a book-keeper in the Deaf and Dumb Insti- 
tute of tiiat place; Mary A. is a teacher in the 
public school of Sorento and also teaches music, 
being a fine performer; Clara A., Rufus H. and 
Eunice E are now being educated in the Sorento 
schools. 

For twenty years after the war, Capt. Sanders 
was book-keeper for a large flouring mill in Car- 
lyle, this State. He came to Sorento in 1886, and 
here has a very pleasant home. He owns a farm 
of about one hundred and eighty-seven acres in 
Clinton County. Politically, he was reared an 
Abolitionist and is now a strong Republican. Na- 
tuially, he is greatly interested in the Grand 
Army of the Republic. In church relations, he is 
an exemplary Baptist and is a life member of the 
American Baptist Publication Society, which has 
headquarteis at Philadelphia. Throughout his 
life, he has been an advocate of temperance 
principles, which he su|)|)orts botli by example and 
precept. 



^^ (^ a^ <•• 3^^3J^ ••• . Ml . '■fi ^ 



/ A. BLACK, M. D. The gentleman whose 
I sketch now claims ouratlention is one of the 
I most successful [ihysicians of the county, 
' where he has lived and labored for so many 
years. The birth <if Dr. Black took place near 
Salem, Marion County, 111., July 2, 1835. He is 
the son of Willis H. Hlack, who was a native of 
Kentucky, born in ISarren County, .Tune 8, 1806. 
He was reared in Tennessee and came to Illinois 
some time in tiie ''20s and located in Clinton 
County, where he married the mother of our 
subject. Slie was Emilia Hensley, a native of 
Kentucky, ))()rn in Hopkins County, .lune 13, 1814. 
Her parents brought her to Illinois wiien she was 
but a small child. 

The paternal grandfather of our subject was a 
native of Kentucky, and his maternal grandfatlier, 



Joseph Hensley, left no record of his birth. The 
father of our subject was killed in Marion County, 
111., January 22, 1864, while attempting to arrest 
deserters, and the mother passed from earth Feb- 
ruary 8, 1892. They were the parents of a large 
family, namely: Joseph F.; Eliza, the widow of 
George Journey, of Hays City, Kan.; Lucy, the 
wife of James M. Crowell, of Shelby, Ala.; 
Thomas C, of Shelby, Ala.; Mary, the wife of 
Charles F. Norris, of Clinton County, 111., are 
those now living beside our subject; and those 
who have passed away are: Margaret D. Will- 
iams, Julia E. Baird, Elizabeth A.; Robert W., who 
died at the age of one j-ear and eight mouths; and 
Willis H., Jr., who died when one month old. 

(jur subject is the eldest sou and second child, 
and was reared in his native place and received his 
first schooling at the district schoolhouse and then 
went to college at Salem. At the age of twenty- 
one Mr. Black began the life of a teacher, and 
after three terms of teaching he began the study 
of medicine luider the guidance of Dr. William 
Hill, now of Bloomington, 111. This was in 1857, 
and our subject remained with him until 1860, 
when he located in the town of Keen vi lie, Wayne 
County, 111. The next jear came the call for 
troops and he enlisted in Company D, Forty-ninth 
Illinois Infantry, as a private, but Januarj- L 
1863, he was jnit on duty as Assistant Surgeon, 
which position lie held until Seiitember, 1865. He 
was through the battles of Ft. Donelson, Sliiloh, 
siege of Corinth, Little Rock, Pleasant Hill, and 
many other of the minor battles and long marches 
which were harder to endure than the real danger 
of the pitched battle. The last engagement in 
which Dr. Black took part was the battle of Nash- 
ville. During the Red River campaign, there 
were forty d.ays when the regiment was under fire 
without ceasing. 

After the war, our subject returned to Salem, 
and remained until October, 18G5, and then 
located at Filhnore, in Montgomery County. He 
remained there for two years, but he came to Mul- 
berry Grove in I8()7, where he remained until 
1871, when he saw a better opening in Fairview 
and located iiere. His marriage to Miss M. J. 
Mood}' took i)l:ice March 15, 1865. She is a 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



317 



native of Indiana, and is tlie dauglitei- of John 
D. Moody. Dr. and Mrs. Black are the parents of 
seven living children: P'.Uen II., tiie wife of 
John B. Defrees, of I.ogan County, 111.; Jennie A., 
JIary J>., .lolin II., Julia (i., Frank B. and Emilia M. 
I)i-. Black is a Kepulilican in his |iolitieal opin- 
ions, and lielieves in expressing ilieni whenever 
he thinks he can acconiplish good by so doing. 
Ileh.as been As.sessor of Pleasant Mound Township 
and is School Treasurer of the same, and also a 
valued member of Colby Post No. 301, (i. A. R., 
at Greenville. 111. 







LPIIKUS C. JORDAN. Ilarvel Township, 
Montgomery County, is favorably located 
in the midst of a wondcifuUy fertih> tract, 
<^j that yields a rich return tor tlie attention 

given it by industrious farmers. A drive through 
this townsiiip will show that all of its inlialiitants 
are well-to-do, if not wealthy. Our subject is one 
of the fortunate possessors of a line farm located 
in this section, his farm being on section (i, and it 
is conspiciKiUs for the imiirf)vements that are found 
upon it. 

Mr. Jordan is a native of Trumluill County, 
Ohio, and was born January 1(1, Its II, a son of 
William and Catherine (Rnmmcl) Jordan. The 
former was a native of the (Quaker State and the 
latter came from Maryland. In the fall of 1814, 
our subject's parents emigrated to Greene Count\ , 
III., fnun ()liio. The country was comparatively 
wild at that time and the advantages were very 
few. There was a large family of children to be 
reared and educated, wlio. at the same time, had 
to contribute tlieir quota to the common family 
suppt)rt. Of these but five are living at the pres- 
ent time. The children were: William F., de- 
ceased; Mrs. Angelica Robley, a widow; Cyrus, 
a resident of Montgomery County; Lewis W.,also 
of Montgomery; Catherine E., who is the widow 
of H. A. Collier, a resident of Parsons, Kan.: and 
our subject. 



In 1853, Alplieus Jordan moved to Macoupin 
County in company with his parents, and in 1854 
they removed to Montgomery County and settled 
in Harvel Township, on section 8, and were the 
first settlers there. The nearest dwelling to them 
was four miles distant. Tlieir home was made on 
the unlirokeii prairie, and one of the brothers of 
our subject turned the first furrow on the farm. 
Alplieus was then but fourteen 3-ears old, though 
his training before that time had been amid [lio- 
iieer scenes, and as the years were passeil he was 
made to feel the responsibility of a pioneer's life, 
and to know that upon him as well as others 
rested the making of the country. Ills school 
da3's were passed in the district schools of the vi- 
cinity and his advantages were limited. Perhaps 
his war experience g.-ive him .as much of a stimulus 
as anything else for a moie extended knowledge. 

Mr. Jordan enlisted in Company I), of the Thir- 
ty-third Illinois Infantry, in August of 18()1, and 
with his regiment was detailed to duty in the army 
of the Southwest. He was a particiiiant in tlie bat- 
tles of Fredericktown, Mo., and Chamiiion Iliils and 
was :it the siege of \'ickslHirg. In the last-named 
tight he was twice slightly wounded. He also 
fought in minor engagements, and after this hoii- 
oralile service was discharged, August 2(j. 1861. 

After leaving the army tuir subject returned to 
Montgomery County. He felt that the making of 
his domestic life was before him, and with this end 
in view besought Miss Marcia C. Creswell to be- 
come his wife, and they were married August 6, 
1874. The lad\' is a native of the Prairie State. 
Mr. and Mrs. Jordan are the jiarenls of eight chil- 
dren, whose names are, Alplieus C., Jr., Robert P., 
F^tliel D., Alice C., Frederick, Blanche F., (irace 
and Lula Inne. They are a small commuiiity in 
themselves and their difference in disposition and 
temperament makes a pleasing social life. 

Our subject owns one hundred and sixty acres 
of land, which is all under a high state of cultiva- 
tion. Politically, he pins his faith to the garnu'iit 
of no party, being thoroughly independent in his 
ideas lioth of government and governors. Educa- 
tional matters that tend toward advancement in 
methods have always received his lieaity endorse- 
ment when the ado(»tion of the new offered any ad- 



318 



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



vantage over the old methods. Mr. Jordan was 
honored during the year 1870 by being elected as 
Supervisor of llarvel Township. During the time 
that he held this office, he discharged his duties to 
the entire satisfaction of his constituents. He is 
identified witii the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Asso- 
ciation. 



Z' A=;->E=+ 



\1/ OUN WOI/OIANX. There is in the devel- 
oijment of a successful life a principle which 
is a lesson to every man, a lesson leading to 
higher and more honoralile positions than 
the ordinary. Let a man be industriously ambi- 
tious, and honorable in his ambitions, and he will 
rise, whether having the prestige of family or the ob- 
scurity of poverty. These reflections are called 
forth by the study of the life of .John Woltmann, 
who is one of the most enterin'isingand prosjierons 
merchants of Nokomis. 

Mr. Woltmann is a German by birth and educa- 
tion, and was born at Norden, on the North Sea, 
August 27, 1858. .\ltliough young in years, he 
has accumulated considerable property-, and not 
only is he a very successful business man, I)ut one 
whose career has ever been upright and honorable. 
His father, Arnedt Woltmann, for nearly- thirty 
3-ears a miller in the Fatherland, was a man of ex- 
cellent judgment and great honesty. Our subject 
inherited much of his enterprise and industry from 
his father, and early in life became desirous of get- 
ting a liberal education. When ten years old he was 
possessed of more zeal than the majoritj^ of boys 
at that age, and was inclined to spend too much 
time with his books. In 1868, he came with his 
])arents to the New World and settled with them 
at Nokomis, 111., where he pursued his studies 
closely' and with much earnestness, his aim being 
to become a preacher in the Lutheran Chuich, of 
which he and his parents were adherents. 

At the age of nineteen years, young Woltmann 
was delving in the classics in Concordia University, 
Springfield. He continued there for two years, 



when his health failed, and he was compelled to 
give up his studies and the cherished plan of be- 
coming a minister. He tried teaching the German 
language in the jinblic schools for a lime, as well 
as instructing a private cl.ass, but this proved too 
trying upon his weak constitution and was aban- 
doned. Afterward he began clerking in the store 
of Charles Auwater, of Nokomis, but he was not 
long contented with a clerkship, and early in 1882 
he established himself in the grocery business on a 
small scale. From the start his business prospered, 
until now he is the head of one of the leading 
general stores in the thriving town of Nokomis. 

For three successive years Mr. Woltmann was a 
member of the Town Board and has held other 
local positions. In all these he has discharged the 
duties in a very satisfactory manner and is compe- 
tent to fill almost any position. In politics, he is 
a strong supporter of Democratic principles, and 
his vote has ever been cast with that party. He is 
an exemplary member of the Lutheran Church, a 
liberal contriliutor to its interests, and an earnest 
advocate of all good work. In him the community 
luas a faithful and unswerving friend, ever alert to 
serve its best interests, and one who can be relied 
upon at all times. He is a man of more than the 
ordinary intelligence, and is a representative citi- 
zen of the county. He was married in the fall of 
1884 to Miss Minnie N.antkes, the daughter of a 
prominent and wealthy farmer, and they have two 
children, Arnold and Jesse. 



§ °'-S]"<"T^G 




A. SIIILKR, M. D. Probably no physician 
in the vicinity of Litchfield is more thor- 
^^^l^ oughly equipped for his profession than is 
the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. His 
studies have been widely extended, .and prosecuted 
under exceptional advantages. He asks no odds 
of ancestors, rank or position to lend color to his 
ability in his chosen profession. The writer, aside 
from the knowledge of his professional skill, knows 
but the barest facts concerning his career. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 



319 



Dr. Sillier was boin at Simeoc, Ontario, May 28, 
18(52. He was educated at Colejiate Institute at 
Simcoe, and distinguished himself in such a man- 
ner as to eiK-ourage him to enter the j)rofessional 
life that he has chosen. He ))roseeuted his med- 
ical studies at ISIagill Jledical rniversity, receiving 
his sheepskin with the Class of '83. After com- 
pleting his studies, he spent one j'car in Germany, 
and there had access to the laboratories of the 
special scientists. Thus eipiipped, and with an ex- 
tended kn<.)wledgc of pathological and biological 
subjects, he has settled in the midst of the Litch- 
field community, ready to alleviate such human 
suffering as should present itself to his attention. 



^1 



H> 



.h|^|«N-^ 



APT. MICHAEL OIH.IMAN. This in brief 
11 „ is the sketch of a man whose present sub- 
^!^' stantial position in life has been reached 
entirely through his own [lersevcrance, and tlu; 
facts connected with his operations and their re- 
sults only show- what a person with courage and 
enlightened views can accom|ilish. His re|)utation 
for honesty and integi'ity has licen tried and not 
found wanting; his financial aliility has been more 
than once i)ut to the test, liut never without credit 
to himself; his social qualities are well known and 
appreciated, and he has hosts of friends, whose 
confidence and esteem arc his highest eulogium. 
He is a wealthy fanner of Audul)on Township, 
Montgomery Count\', and is an important factor in 
Third Party politics. 

Horn in Strausberg (then in the domain of France 
but now in the (lernian cmi)ire) in September, 1822, 
our subject is a son of Michael and (iertrude Olil- 
man, with whom he emigrated to America in 1832. 
They landed at Baltimore, Md., and as the little 
means the father had accumulated had been used 
in the journey to this country, he was at (_ince 
compelled to look about him for employment. 
Soon afterward, he and his son. the subject of this 
sketch, who was then a lad of ten years, obtained 
work at breaking stone for the paving of the streets 



in Wasliington, D. C. In this way, they saved a 
small amount of money, and, being anxious to reach 
the West, purchased a [loor old brokeii-ilown stage 
horse and a rickety old wagon, into which all their 
earthly possessions were loaded, and started out 
on their Westward journey. At Wheeling. W. Va., 
their horse died and other means of travel had to 
be found. They built a tlatboat, in which they 
loaded their goods, and after many hardships .'iiid 
trials reached Cairo, where they stayed for a short 
time, but eventually they removed to St. Louis, 
where the futlier and VdUiig Michael laliored until 
1838. 

By this time, they had accumulated consider- 
able means, and with it ]\Ir. ()hlman pui-<'hased a 
large tract of land in Missouri, on whicli Michael 
labored cheerfully and faithfully until he was 
seventeen years of age, when he began working (in 
flatboats on the Mississippi iiiver. At the end of 
two years, he commenced to work <in steamboats, 
and was |iromoted until he became pilot of one 
of the floats. He was ecoiioinical in his expendi- 
tures, and although he had little or no education 
he had an object in life, and he in vested his money 
judiciously in river-boat stock and in time be- 
came the owner and commander of the '■ Star of 
the West." With this \nn\i. a small fortune was 
made, but it was linally sunk in the river. Later, 
after spending a iarge amount of money, it was 
raised and refitted, only to be burned a short time 
after. 

Subsequently, Mr. Ohlman became commander 
of the "D. A. January."' in which he owned a five- 
eighths interest, and for five years commanded it 
and did a most successful business. With this 
boat alone, it is sai<l, he made a fortune. He sailed 
it on the .Mississip|ii and IMissmiii Rivers, and dur- 
ing the first part of the Civil War his profits were 
enormous. In 18(12, he secured a contract from 
the (iovernment, liut the operation of a jirivate 
boat at this time, c>n .account of its doubtful nature, 
was a lisky calling and a propositi(jn was made to 
sell it to the (Tovernment, which was acce|ited. 

("apt. (Jhlman then came to Mimtgomery County 
and made large investments of his fdrtune in land, 
and here he h.as ([uietly lived ever since. He ha.s 
one of the finest farms in this section of the coun- 



320 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



try. His estate comprises about eight hundred 
acres, and upon it he has a beautiful mansion, from 
which a fine view of the country can be had for 
many miles around. Mr. Ohlman has not been ac- 
tively engaged in farming for many years, hut has 
placed the management of his magnificent estate 
in the hands of his sons, while he looks after the 
finances. He was reared a Democrat, but some 
three _years ago cast his lot with the Third or 
People's Party, and has devoted much of his time 
and money in furthering the interests of what he 
believes to be the coming great party. He attends 
all of the conventions of his party, and his voice is 
often heard in its councils. Starting in life with 
little or no education, he has been a close student 
and but few men in his locality are more thought- 
ful readers or better posted on the general topics 
of the day than is he. 

C'apt. Ohlman was married in 1859 to Miss 
Theresa Buebach, who was born in Cincinnati, 
Ohio, of German parents. Their union resulted 
in the birth of nine children, six of whom are liv- 
ing: Cecil, who is the wife of Alfred Wyand, of 
Pana, 111.; William, who is a graduate of the St. 
Louis University, also of Notre Dame of South 
Bend, Ind.; Ida, who is the wife of Joseph W. 
AVild, the talented newspaper editor of Nokomis; 
Alexander and James, who are in charge of the 
farming and stock-raising interests of their fa- 
ther's large estate; Lizzie, an intelligent young 
lady, is now receiving her education. 




c^p^IIEODORE ROGERS, Ju.. is a native of the 
county and State in which he has found a 
perriiaiu-nt home. In Pitman Townshi|i, 
Montgomery' County, he owns one hundred and 
twenty acres of fine farming land on section 15. 
Upon this place he resides, devoting his attention 
to the cultivation fif the soil and the propei- im- 
provement of the farm. 

Mr. Rogers was born in Montgomery County, 



111., December 13, 1848. He is a son of Hardin 
and Martha (Hamilton) Rogers, both of whom 
weie natives of the State of Kentucky. Hardin 
Rogers came to Montgomerj- County, and at an 
early day settled in what is now known as Pitman 
Township. His judgment told him that the best 
place on which to locate would be upon the edge 
of some timber land, for in such a location there 
would always be water, and the scarcity of that 
article was one of the most distressing features in 
pioneer life in the Prairie State. The family home 
was in the wilderness hi a cabin made of logs, and 
there the children were reared, meanwhile endur- 
ing all the privations incident to life in a newly- 
settled country. 

The surviving children of this family are as fol- 
lows: Anthony; LaFayette; Lucinda, the widow of 
Millard Wood; and Theodore. In spite of the 
difficulties of their early lives, these children be- 
came honored members of society and performed 
the duties required of them in as efficient a man- 
ner as do many of those who have had more ad- 
vantages and fewer obstacles to struggle against. 
The lieloved father of this family, Hardin Rogers, 
was removed liy death when our subject was only 
five years old. He was one of the most respected 
of the early settlers of the township and his death 
was deeply lamented by his famil}' and neighbors. 
The mother of our subject is now in her seventy- 
eighth year and is living on the same farm to 
which she came with her husband in those early 
days. Although dejirived of his assistance and 
companionshi[), she has managed the estate with 
good judgment and has reared her family in com- 
fort. She is one of the venerable pioneer women 
of the State and her reminiscences of those early 
days are both interesting and instructive. She is 
a faithful member of the Christiiui Church. 

Theodore Rogers, our subject, is a young and 
enterprising man, one of the foremost in his sec- 
tion of country. He keeps himself well jwisted on 
all pulijic alt'nirs and votes with the great Republi- 
can party, which he regards as the friend of the 
manufacturer, the consumer and the laborer alike. 
His early educatiomd advantages were very lim- 
ited, .although lie embraced every opportunity that 
came in his way to acquire kiu)wledge, Mont- 



PORTRAIT A'SD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



321 



gomery County lias become noted tliroiighout the 
State for its fine fuims and solid, successful linsi- 
ness men, and among the latter the majority have 
made themselves what they are, and Mr. Rogers is 
no exception to the rule, as he can regard witli 
pardonable i>ride tlie success which has attended 
his efforts. His one hundred and twenty acres 
show the result of intelligent cultivation, and his 
large barnyard, filled with sleek, well-fed cattle, 
testifies to his prosperity, while fences and neat 
outbuildings, which are kept in good repair, indi- 
cate that he is a man who believes that nothing 
adds to the prositeious look of a farm likeaproiier 
regard for appearance. 






>^^<^ 



M. IirLHKRT * .lOSKl'lI W. WILD. The 

history of a newspai)er reminds one of the 
^/ ajipearance of an actor on the stage. What- 
ever may be the individual joy or grief, the cause 
thereof must be sujipressed. Death may be lurk- 
ing in the home of the vivacious comedian, but 
the audience demand smiles and jests in return 
for their money. The personality of the editor ap- 
))ears but little in the sheet, though there is the 
under-current of influence that individualizes the 
paper. What would the Globe-Democrat have 
been without (!rady, the Tribune witlnnit (ireeley, 
the Courier-Journal witho\it AVatterson.' So the 
individuality of the i^roprietors is shown in the 
sheet, the history of which we shall touch u|)on 
lightly. 

The Free Fn-ss was born, so to speak, in Jnl_y, 
1878. It was originally a small advertising sheet, 
but not long after was enlarged and tlung to the 
breeze as a [lopnlar news|)aper educator, and an 
advocate of the Democratic i)riuciples. The Fress 
was the first to appear l)efore the public. Its edi- 
tor, Mr. Hulbert, later purchased the >sokomis 
Gazette, which had been established some eight 
years previously, and consolidated the two under 
the name of tlie Free Fress Gazette, and the whole 
w.as launched on the sea of independent politics, 
and as such has since been conducted. 



In 1880, Mr. Hulbert, who is a far-sighted news- 
paper man, realizing that there w.as a large and 
continually growing population of (ierinan-rcad- 
ing people in his locality, started a (4crman sheet 
with thesuggestive nameof the Deutsch Anierika.ner. 
The fortunes of these |)apers are .so closely united 
with the history of its editors that we here give a 
brief biographical sketch fif e.ach. 

E. JI. Hulbert of the firm of Hulbert .V Wild, the 
wide-awake editor and publishers of the Free Fress 
G((zeUe and Deutsdi Aineril.dner, was liorii at Pitts- 
field, Pike County, HI.. .Inly 22, 1 S.'iS. He is the 
onl_y son of W. M. and Laura (Tooley) Hulbert. 
His father is a native of the old liay State, having 
been born near lioston. lie was one of the early 
settlers in Pike County, having located there more 
than forty j'ears ago. Eor many years he was en- 
gaged largely in the manufacture of Ijrick, and at 
this writing (1892) is living near Nokomis, where 
he owns a farm. He came to this ctninty about 
18(;4. Mr. IInll)crt"s mother w.as a native of New 
York, who [)assed from this life when our subject 
was a lad of nine years of age. His father con- 
tr.acted a second marriage and young Hulbert 
grew up on the home farm much as do other 
farmer boys, receiving a fair education in the pub- 
lic schools of Noniokis. 

Early in his boyhood days our sul)ject displayed 
a great taste for the printing business, and when 
liut thirteen years of age became possessed of a 
toy press, which he kept in his sleeping room at 
home. His love for tlie business grew with him, 
and at eighteen he enterprisingly established the 
Nokomis Free Fress, which was received .as has 
been above stated. Upon the establishment of the 
Deutsrh Amerihiuer he associated with himself 
.Joseph W. Wild, a thorough (Tcrnian .scholar, and 
then it was that he purchased and brought to No- 
komis the first power press ever used in Montgom- 
ery County, and the new addition (iroved to be a 
winning card in his fast-increasing business. Some 
eight years later he disposed of a half-interest in 
the entire plant to Mr. Wild, and at the .same time 
the firm took up, in addition to their news|)ai)er 
business, the real-estate and insurance busines.'<, 
which they have carried on with marked finan- 
cial success. 



322 



POI^TRAIT AND BIO(JRAril]CAL RECORD. 



Ml'. Iluliicrt is in every sense of tlie word a 
thorough business man, wiiich has been attested 
by the growth of his incipient boyhood love of 
printing into liis present largo interests. Aside 
from his newspaper, real-estate and insurance bus- 
inesses, he is one of the Directors in tiie Nokomis 
Building & Loan Association. Socially, he is gen- 
ial and affable, but he appears to the best advan- 
tage when on his own ground, that of a business 
man. 

In 1878, Mr. Hulbert married Miss May L. Wet- 
more now a native of Madison County, and 
daughter of R. E. Wetmore, a prominent farmer in 
South Dakota. The home circle of our subject m- 
includes three bright children, vvhose names are as 
follows: Winifred, Walter R. and Gertrude. Fra- 
ternall^v, Mr. Hulbert is a prominent member of 
the Odd Fellows and is also a Knight of Pvthias. 



^m 



-^..j.^.^ 



.{..j.^^^^ .{.^^^F 



A^^.{.j- 



'jy/OSEPIIW. WILD, the associate editor of 
the Free Press Gazette and DnUscli Ameri- 
kaiier, was born near Bayfield, in Huron 
County, Ontario, Canada, on the (Jth of 
March, 1856. He is the elder of the two chil- 
dren born to Josepli and Crcscentia (Vogt) 
Wild, both of wliom were born in Germany, the 
former in Baden and the latter in Wuertenberg. 
During the revolt in 1818, while still in his native 
land, our subject's father identified himself with 
the Revolutionists, and like many others of his 
countrymen found that America was a genial 
country in which to take refuge, and in 1848 he 
located on a farm in Huron County, Ontario, where 
he still lives. 

Our subject was but three years of age when be- 
icft of his mother. His baby sister, one 3ear 
younger, is now the wife of Herman Kaupp, of .St. 
Louis. His father again married and reared an 
additional faniih' of thiee boys and eight girls. 
Young Wild grew up on his father's farm, receiv- 
ing a very fair education until sixteen yeais of 
age. lie was then seized with the desire to learn 



the printer's trade and finally got his father's con- 
sent to enter the office of the Berliner Journal in 
Berlin, Canada, the same being owned and edited 
by an uncle, John Motz. 

Willi his uncle as preceptor, Mr. Wild mastered 
the art of printing, and remained in the Journal 
office until 1879, when he determined to seek fame 
and fortune in the United States, so turned his 
steps Westward. He worked for a time in a news- 
paper office in Detroit, thence went to St. Louis, 
where he was employed in a job office until he 
came to Nokomis, in the spring of 1881, to take 
charge of the editorial department of the Deutsch 
Amerikaner, which had a short time previously 
been established by his present partner. As above 
stated, he became a partner eight years later. Mr. 
Wild is a very energetic business man and has 
done his full siiaie in making the large newspaper 
the success that it is, and also in conducting the 
real-estate and insurance business of the firm. 
Personally, he is a whole-souled man, hale-fellow- 
well-niet with the best of all classes of people, and 
a general favorite with everyone in his locality. 

September 14, 1886, Mr. Wild was united in 
mairiage with Miss Ida M., daughter of a wealthy 
and retired steamboat captain, Michael Ohlman. 
Two bright children have been the result of this 
union, Olivia T. and Ionia E. Our subject was 
born and reared, and is a strong adherent of, the 
Roman Catholic faith. He is one of the charter 
members of the Catholic Knights of Illinois, a 
Catholic organization of Nokomis. 



ilLLIAM SIDES. Although the develop- 
Ijl ment of the Northern twin Carolina has 
been so comparatively slow that its na- 
tives have seemed to merit the nickname, "The 
Tar Heels," facetiously given them during the war 
of the Rebellion by a witty native of Massachu- 
setts, still during the last decade the rich mineral 
sub-stiHtas have called attention t() the Slate, and 





rja^yyxJZ^ 





xj^ 



PORTRAIT AND BlOGRArillCAL RECORD. 



325 



have added wonderfully U) its enterprise and 
orowtli. It is a niystieal, iieaiitiful land, whose 
Kastern shore is washed by t.lie hlue Atlantic, tlio 
Western lioundaiy lined with mountains wiiosc 
pine-elad domes are wreathed in tiie lou-hangini^' 
clouds. Happy are the conditions of life in such 
a land, happy the man who is horn there, and this 
was the native State (if our sut)ject, William Sides. 

In 1817, occurred the birth of our subject. His 
parents were ^lalhias and Sarali (Boss) Sides, the 
former lieing a farmer and cooper. When our 
\dung' hero was but a. sturdy lad of four years, his 
parents determined to remove to Illinois, and lo- 
cated fin a farm near the city of Nokomis, in Mont- 
gomery ('ounty. Like so many of the men who 
form the lirawn and sinew of our natitnial life, 
voung Sides grew up in rur.al life. He received 
but a cfimmon-sehool education, but sui'li as it was, 
it tended in the right direction — to devt'lop his 
natural fibre. 

On the breaking out of the Civil War, the sub- 
ject of our sketch was a youth full of lire and pa- 
triotism. Although his [larents strongly objected to 
his leaving home with military intent, his heart 
was on the battlefield, and in im.agination he was 
the hero of many a battle. He yielded to parental 
;\utliority for some time, but when the State's neces- 
sity was felt, and call afti'r call came for volun- 
teers, lie could no longer brook delay, and took the 
case into his own hands and ran away from home, 
^lav 22, 18(51, we find him enrolled in (.'ompan\' 
(', of the One Hundred and Forty-third Illinois 
Infantry, and he was mustered in as a jirivate at 
Mattoon, whence the company with which he was 
was sent to Cairo, this State, thence to JMemi)his, 
Tenn. While in the last-named city, Mr. Sides was 
detailed to do guai'd duty for a time. He was then 
sent to Helena, Ark., where he remained until his 
time exi)ired, and he was mustered out of service 
at Mattoon. September 2(1. ixdl. 

Although our subject's military service extended 
over only four months, sucli was the exposure and 
jirivation to which he was subjected that hishealtli 
was shattered, and for a time his life hung liy a 
slender thread. ( )n iccuperating he I'ligagcd in 
farming until ISK.s. when he sold his agricnlt ur.il 
interests ami came to Nokomis, where he has >ince 

15 



engaged in the general mercantile business, and is 
at the present time a i)rominent merchant in this 
city. 

Mr. Sides was united in marriage in the vear 
187(i, at whit'h time Miss .\lice Wells became 
his wife. i\Irs. Sides is a native of the ISuck- 
evo State, an<l she is a capalile and attractive 
woman, who has been a loving hel|imate to her 
husband. Their f.amily comprises seven children, 
whose names aie: Clarence, liertie K., Willii'. Tru- 
die, ^landie, Stella and Laura. Mr. Sides keeps up 
his relations with his war comrades, and is u de- 
voted meml.ier of the (J rand Aiiny of the Kcpuhlic. 
Politically, he is an ardent admirer of the beauty 
of the principles of the Republican ]iait<y,and Har- 
rison, McKinlev and Liaiiu' arc in his estimati<ui 
as much heroes in this time of peace, as were the 
generals on the l)attlelield. Mr. Sides is one of 
the ablest and stanchest citizens of Nokomis. 



I '■ >i >'" ^ w » 



f^f^'i 



AMKS K. Will rWORTH. The head of the 
very extensive mercantile house of J. F. 
Whitwoitli it Comi)any at Sorento, and one 
' of the prominent merchants in that place, 
was born at Mulberr\' (irove, Roiid County, this 
State, December 18, 18r)(). He was the sixth in 
oriler of birth nf a family of nine childieu that 
were at the same time the comfort and care of 
their fond parents, Marcus L. and .lane (White) 
Wliitworth. 

Marcus L. Wliitworth was born near Nashville, 
Tenn., December 12, 1)^22, and w;is the second of 
a family of ten chihlrcn, I'tuir boys and six girls. 
The aiu^ostry of lh(^ Wliitworth family can easily 
be traced back in the history of the country for 
more than twocenturics. ( ireat-grandfathcr Wliit- 
worth emigrated with a brother from Lancaster, 
ICiigland.the place of their nativity, and first settled 
in Maryland, but sdon moved to Tt'iinessee and 
located land not far from Nashville, There .lohn 
Wliitworth. the father of M:irciis jj., was born, grew 
to manhood, and was an extciisi \i' land and slave 
owner. The old homestead where .lohii Wliitworth 



326 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



first settled, and where John, Jr., was born and 
died, is still in the Whitworth family. 

Our subject belongs to a family the members 
of wliieh l(irin a brilliant galaxy of social and 
(inancial lights. The surviving members who still 
reside in tiie South are men of large wealth and 
prominence. The father of our subject was reared 
on the home plantation, and there received a 
liberal education. P^or many years he was a slave- 
holder, but whether from dislike of the institution 
of slavery or not, we cannot tell, he left his native 
State and came to Illinois in 184G. 

Marcus L. spent some time in White County, 
where he became acquainted with Jane 'White, the 
sixteen-year-old daughter of William and Nancj' 
White, prominent and wealth}' farmers of that 
county. The following 3'ear they were married, 
the groom taking his young bride to Nashville, 
where they resided until 18,54, when they returned 
to White County. The following year they Icicated 
near Mulberry Grove, where they purcliascd and 
improved a farm, and where the father died in 
February of 1880. 

Brielly we have given an outline of the ante- 
cedents of the man whose history is the basis of 
this sketch. That of his lirothers .and sisters is 
very briefly as follows; Sarah is the widow of 
Henry Parrott, who died in 1889; Martha is the 
wife of Edward Moss, a farmer in Arkans.as; 
Marcus L., Jr., is a farmer in Bond County; IMary 
is the wife of William N. Antiiony, also a farmer in 
Bond County; Florence is the wife of Walter W. 
Mitchell, the junior member of the firm of which 
our subject is the head. 

The original of our sketch grew to maturity on 
the home f;irm and received a fair education. He 
must have made rapid strides in his boyhood days, 
for at the age of fifteen years we find him teaching 
school, and at the age of eighteen a student at the 
Shurtleff College of Upper Alton. After comi)leting 
his education he went, to Kansas and was success- 
I'ullv eng.aged in stock business for two years. He 
then returned to Illinois and was for twoyearsen- 
gaged in farming, and afterward he established him- 
self in the mercantile business in Sorento, where he 
lias built up one of the largest mercantile houses in 
Bond Count}-, 



Success has seemed to force itself upon our 
subject, for wliile he is a business man of more 
than ordinary' ability, his advancement has been 
most marked among other positions of trust that 
he has held. He is now the Mayor of the town, 
and is ever active in the upbuilding of the place. 
Mr Wiiitwortli was mariied in August of 1887 to 
Miss Annie (Saathoff), daughter of Henry S.aathoflf, 
a wealthy German-American who now lives near 
Sorento. They have two children: Delia, a bright 
girl of four summers, and George J., who is two 
years of age. 



^^ 



>5; 



OSEPH IMcKINNEY. We take pleasure in 
l)resenting to tlie readers of this volume a 
history in outline of the gentleman whose 
name appears above, and who was for 
years a in'ominent and much-esteemed resident 
of Ilarvel Township, ISIontgomery County. Mr. 
^IcKinnej' was a native of that good old South- 
ern .State which has produced so many noted 
men among statesmen and orators. He was born 
in Virginia, October 10, 1815. 

Mr. McKinney came to Illinois among the ear- 
liest settlers that were here. Jt is doubtful, how- 
ever, whether he did, at that early day, much pio- 
neer work, for he was liut a little chap of four 
years of age when he came here with his parents, 
they having made the journey hither with horses 
and wagon. He was soon, however, inducted into 
the mysteries and methods of pioneer agricultural 
life. They settled first in Jersey Count}-, and 
there our subject grew to manhood. He was true 
to his calling, and dcvc.ited himself to that through- 
out a long and useful life. 

While still a residentof .Jersey County, the origi- 
nal of this sketch married Nancy Thornton. 
This union was productive of four children, three 
of whom still survive. They ai'c: .James. John and 
Cliarlotte. In the fall (.)f 1 87 1. the faiiuly moved 
to Montgomery County, and settled upon the farm 
that they still occupy. Bereft of his first, wife, he 



PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



327 



contracted a second marriage, which was solem- 
iiize(] in Marcii. 1801. Ili.s bride was Miss Eliza- 
htth A. Pettit, a native of J5urlington County, 
N. J., wliere she was jioin .laiuuuy 2, 1835. She 
was a daughter of .loseiili and Sarah Pettit, also 
natives of Xew Jersey. From tliis marriage seven 
children were born. Their names are: .Tosepli F., 
George D., Rosetta, Lizzie S., Mary M.. William II. 
and Zeddie R. 

jMr. McKinney departed Ihis life February 5, 
1881, having almost completed the tlu-ee-seore 
years and ten generally allotted t,o man. He was 
greatly respected by all who knew him, having led 
an upright, honorable .'ind useful life. His estate 
comiirised eighty acres of land, up<ui which the 
family now resides. He was a kind husband and 
loving, indulgent father, and enjoyed the conli- 
dence of his nt^ighbors and townsmen. For years 
tlie priucii)les of the Democratic party iiad l.ieen 
lu'ld dear by him. Mrs. McKinney, when twenty- 
five 3'ears of age, came to Sangamon Cdiuity, mak- 
ing that her residence for a short time, then came 
to Montgomery County with her husband, and 
has since lived a contented and useful life. She 
is a devoted member of the Christian Chuich, and 
one of the women whom the commiuiity delights 
to hon(n'. 






<X ^\ • /^ Ttyyf - - ■ 4 > ^^'^^ ^J*LB ^V ^ x^ 



.ANGRATZ BOLL, ex-Postmaster of Green- 
ville, who is now living retired, is one of 
the worthy citizens that (iermanv has fur- 
nished Bond ('ount\. He was born in Ba- 
den, M.ay 10, 182(), and is a son of .lohn and Lib- 
erata (Weigerly) Holl, aljo natives of Germany, 
where the father was an extensive farmer. 

Our subject was one of live children, and tlie 
onl_\' one who grew to maturity. He was highly 
educated in his native land,lioth in literary studies 
.■md In music. He followed farming until I8;')J, 
when he bade good-bye to the scenes of his child- 
JHiod and crossed the Atlantic. He had been pre- 
viously married on the 2Uh of August, 18iy, to 



Miss Veronica Jehle, and unto them were born 
three cliildren, iMnma, William and August, with 
whom they started to America, but the last-named, 
a lialii^ of eighteen months, died while en route, 
and vv;is buried in the sea. They reached New 
York October 2!(, 1851, and at (uice started for St. 
l,ouis. AVhile on the way the trunks, valued at 
!S3(MI, wei'c lost, and no settlement was ever made 
for them. 

After two weeks spent in St. Louis, Mv. Boll lo- 
cated in Highland, III., where he engaged in the 
manufacture of boots and shoes for three months. 
He then removed to I'ocahontas, where he re- 
mained for three years. While tliere he worked 
at his trade for a year, after which he taught 
music and (ierman, and was also engaged in farm- 
ing. The year 1857 witnt'ssed his arrival in 
(ireenville, where he accepted a |)osition with Col. 
Reed, a nianufactiu'cr of boots and shoes, with 
whom he remained a trusted employe for eight 
■\-ears, and, during the ('olonel's absence in the 
army, was f(U'eman m the business. In 1866, he 
purchased a stock of boots and shoes, and also car- 
ried on boot and shoe making until the 17th of 
Se|)tember, 1870. when he was appointed Post- 
master of (ireenville by President Grant. He 
filled the otlice acceptably for almost twelve years, 
and resigned on the 14th of I'\'bruary, 1882. 

LTnto Ml', and ^Irs. l^.oll have Iteen born live 
children, of whom I'jnina, is the eldest; Julia is 
wife of Fi'ank Heger. formerly Cashier in Hoile's 
Bank, Init now head book-keeper in a bank in 
Denver, Colo.; Ivannie married Theodore Roth, a 
merchant of Smithl)orough, and died IMay 9, 181)2; 
August, connected with the St. Louis Hi'iiuhlii': 
and William, one of the pi-oprietors of the Sun, 
pulilishcd ill l>eil ( )ak, Montgomery County, Iowa. 
In coniiectioii with Charles Clark, the latter also 
founded the Stui. of (ireenville. 

( )ii retiring from oltice, Mr. I5oll, with his wifr, 
made n trip to J'hirope. Tlie3' spent six months in 
tr.'ivfl, \'isiting the principal cities and points in 
the Old World, and during their alisence Mr, lioU 
was a eoriespoiident of the Greenville iSui). He 
has also been a correspiuident of a St. Louis paper. 
Ill politics, he is a I )emocr.'it, while in religiiuis 
faith both he and Ins wife are members of tfie Ho- 



32S 



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAI'HICAL RECORD. 



man Catholic Churcli, in wliieli he serves as organ- 
ist. They have a beautiful home on Harris Ave- 
nue. Mr. I'kiU also owns several residences and a 
business house in this city, lie is a man t>f ster- 
ling worth and strict integrity, alike true to every 
public and private trust. He has been the arciii- 
teet of his own fortune, and has built wisely and 
well, gaining for himself a handsome competence, 
which places him among the substantial citizens 
of the community. 



frr 



•!-^•^3=^. 



;OHN J. SUTTON, Justice of the Peace and 
I one of the re})resentative and highly' re- 
I spected citizens of Oreenville, was born in 
_ ' the city of ISrotherly Love, on the 16th of 
April, 1832. The family is of English origin. 
The grandparents, Edmund and Jane (Kichardson) 
Sutton, came to America in 1820, and located in 
Pennsylv.mia. Tlie grandfather was a farmer, but 
in later years lived a retired life, making his home 
in the city of Philadelphia. Himself and wife 
were membei's of the Society of Friends. Tiiey 
had a family of eleven children, nine of whom 
grew to manhood and womanhood, 

Robert Sutton, father of our subject, was born 
in England, and came with his parents to this 
country. He resided first in Philadelphia, ami 
married Hannah Stockdale, daughter of John Stock- 
dale, a farmer and stock dealer, who spent his en- 
tire life in his native hind. His family numbered 
twelve children. jMrs. Sutton crossed the briny 
deep in 1818. After their marriage they located 
on a f;uiii in Philadelphia County, where the father 
of our subject carried on agricultural pursuits for 
a period of live years. He then removed to Bucks 
County, where he followed farming until 1840, 
which year witnessed his arrival in St. Louis 
County, IMo. He fhere followed his chosen occu- 
jjation until lis IT), when he becaiiK; a resident of 
Clinton County, 111., and there he remained until 
his death, which occurred in 187:3, His wife sur- 



vived him several years and was called to the home 
beyond in 1882. He was a Reiuiblican in i)olitics, 
aii<l with the Presbyterian Church both held mem- 
bership. Their family numbered four children, 
but our sul)ject has only one brother now living, 
Edmund, a resident of St. Louis. 

John J. Sutton, whose name heads this record, 
quietly spent the days of his bojiiood upon his 
father's farm, and his education was acquired in 
Bucks County, Pa., supplemented by about six 
months' attendance at the common schools in Clin- 
ton County, 111. He remained at home aiding in 
the labors of the farm until after his parents' 
death, and then assumed its management, carrying 
on operations along that line until 1884, when he 
removed to Greenville and was elected to his pres- 
ent office, the duties of which he has discharged 
with a promptness and fidelity tliat have won him 
the commendation of all concerned. 

Mr. Sutton has purchased city proi)erty in the 
east [lart of the town, and, besides this, owns a one 
hundred and sixty acre farm in Clinton County, 
and other land in Madison County. In politics, 
he is a stalwart Republican, and has ably filled the 
offices of .Supervisor, Town Collector, .School 
Trustee and .School Director. He w.as also Justice 
of the Peace for three and a-half years in Clinton 
County. He is a faithful member and Trustee of 
the Presbyterian Church, is a stalwart advocate of 
temperance principles and is an honorable, upright 
man, who takes an .active interest in all that per- 
tains to the welfare of the community and its up- 
liuilding. He is a valued citizen, and one well 
deserving representation in this volume. 



^-^+^P— I 



■sv, S. D. KCJliEUTS, who died September 17, 

>*V 1892, was one of the old settlers of Bond 

\y County, and resided on section 3, Mulberry 

''^^Grove Township. He was one of the most 

prominent farmers of the county, .ind has had a 

life full of interest. 

Our subject was born in Henry County, Ky., Sep- 





^y^^C l<iy Yi- 





71. /.^Z- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFXORD. 



331 



tembei' 15, 1822, the same ve<ii' liis father, who was 
one of the early settlers of the eoimty, made his 
advent inlci it. The latter was liorn in 15ardstown, 
Ky., ill the year ITKO. and he was reared in tliis 
place. After he came to Illinois, he settled on land 
which he olitained from the (4overnment, but did 
not make tliat- pl^e a permanent home. He only 
remained there f(jr about two years, and then went 
into Montgomery County aud located at Vanlnir- 
ensberg, where he remained for many years. The 
lirst marriage of Mr. lUiberts took pl.ace in Ken- 
tuckj", and his wife bore the maiden name of Sarah 
Simmons. She was a native of Henry County, Ky., 
where she was reared, and died after her removal 
into JNIontgomery Comity. She was the noble 
mother of thirteen children, and all of these grew 
to maturity. All of them married with one ex- 
ception, and reared families, and these have spread 
over the country and everywhere have liorne the 
name without reproach. 



^^IS'-^Hi'^lfc^^ 



\fl MONTI CELLO SPRINKLE, I). 1). S., of 

Nokomis, has a patronage that is large and 
constantly on the increase, which desirable 
state of affairs has iieen brought al.iout by 
a thorough knowledge of his iirofession, lUTiinpt- 
ness ill filling his engagements, and the painstaking 
and careful manner in which he jierforms all his 
work. He keeps a full line of dental su|)i)lies, fully 
equal to the reciuiremcn ts of that progressive |>ro- 
fe.-siun, including all the most improved apparatus 
and materials, and all his dealings are character- 
ized by fair and honorable methods. 

Our suhjcct was horn in Knox County, hid., 
March 2. ISOI, the son of Col. .lolin H. K. and I'.ar- 
bara ( Bronillette) Sprinkle, whose ancestors became 
residents of this country during the early Coloninl 
times, but history is a little vague as to the exact 
time that they came, or where they came from. 
It is, however, knuwn that Henry Sprinkle, the 
grandfather, was born near Hagerstown, Wasiiing- 
toii County, Md., in 1757, and in 1807 was mar- 



ried to Elizabeth Ernst. He was the owner of a 
large plantation and became an extensive slave- 
holder. He lived tci the ripe old age of ninety 
years, dying in 1851. 

Col. Sprinkle, the father of the subject of this 
sketch, was born in Wythe County, A'a., in 1822, 
and in 1815 went to Knox County, Ind., to take 
up his residence on land purchased liy his father 
from the Shakers in IS;!5. He became a very 
lirominent and wealthy farmer in that section of 
country. He was a life-long Democrat, and under 
the aibninistration of President linchanan held 
an appointment in the United States Land Odice, 
and later was Disbursing Agent under the same 
President, as well as a United States Marshal. Ib- 
is now living retired in Vincennes, Ind. He was 
married to iMiss Barbara, a daughter of Capt. Pierre 
lirouillette, a prominent and early French settler 
and a great admirer of Gen. Harrison. 'Fhe mother 
was born in \'inccnnes, Ind., in 1821. and died in 
18!l0, at the old home. A brother of our subject. 
Welcome B., is a [irominent [ihysician of ()aktowii, 
Ind. It was on his father's farm that Dr. Sprinkle 
first saw the light of da\', and there his early life 
was spent in attending the imblic schools. At the 
age of seventeen he entered the High School of 
Dayton, Ohio, from which he was graduated three 
years later with honors. 

Our subject then began the study of dentistry 
under Dr. T. B. .lirard. of N'iiicennes, Ind., aud in 
1.S82 became princijial demonstrator at the New 
York College of Dental Surgery, from which ho 
was graduated in 1881. In |SS5, he was graduated 
from the Indiana Dental College, and soon after- 
ward began practicing his chosen profession at 
Carlisle, Ind., imt at the expiratidu of one year 
came to Nokomis, reaching this city in the month 
of March, 188(i. He is a iiost-graduate of the 
Dental Association of the United States, is a mem- 
ber in good standing of the Illinois State Dental 
Association,. as well as of the Dental Protective Asso- 
ciation of the United States. He li;is lieeu success- 
ful in his practice, and has a line suite (.if rooms, 
which are fitted up in a tasteful and elegant man- 
ner. An etiucated and polished gentleman, h(^ is 
a general favorite in social and prt)fessional circles 
and is an enterprising citizen, of whom the people 



332 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of Nokomis may well feel proud. His local prac- 
tice is vei\y large, as is also his practice from ad- 
joining counties, and he is considered to be one 
of the most popular of dental practitioners. 




^ S. UPSTONR. For a mimber of years past 
the city of Nokomis has been noted far and 
-jftj wide for its excellent mercantile establish- 
ments, and particularly that conducted bj^ Mr. Up- 
stone, who is one of the first-class business men of 
the place. In his active career through life he has 
gained to an unlimited extent the confidence and 
esteem alwa^ys awarded integrity, honor and in- 
dustry, and is now one of the foremost men of the 
county. He is progressive in his ideas, pleasing 
and courteous in his manner, and well understands 
how to suit the desires and wishes of his patrons. 
He is now President of the Town Board, and is 
active in his support of all laudable enterprises. 

i\lr. Upstone is a Canadian b>' birth, having 
been born in Sutton Township, Brome County, 
Province of Quebec, Canada, near the Vermont 
line, in 183,), and is of English-Scotch ancestry. 
His fatlier, John Upstone, was born in London, 
England, and his motiier, Jane (Sinclair) Upstone, 
was a native of Edinburgh, Scotland. Tlie pai'ents 
emigrated to Canada in 1832, and in that country 
the fatlicr followed the oceu|)ation of a farmer. 
Young I'pstone was reared to the arduous duties 
of the farm, and as he had to labor most assidu- 
ously during his youth, his education received 
very little attention. When eight years of age 
liis mother died, and he grew up deprived of the 
loving ('arc and helpful words of that parent. His 
early life was one of hardshiii and privation, but 
he was possessed of much determination, great 
energy, and an unusual amount of entiu-prise. 

Upon tiie breaking out of the Civil War, our 
subject was in Ripley County, Ind., and when the 
tocsin of war sounded, he was filled with patriotism 
for his adopted land, so on the 3(1 of June, 18(51, 



he donned his suit of blue, shouldered his musket, 
and enlisted in Company (1, Thirteenth Indiana 
Infantry, as a private. He was mustered in at 
Indianapolis and was at once sent to Virginia. 
Soon afterward he participated in the battle of 
Rich Mountain, in that State, and here had his 
first taste of fire from the enemy. After this he 
was on guard duly and engaged in skirmish- 
ing in Maryland until his command was plunged 
into the battle of Winchester. Following this tlie 
command marched up the Shenandoah Valley, and 
crossed the mountains into the Luray Valley, where 
he and a number of his companions were detached 
from the regiment and sent back to the Shenan- 
doah Valley, the objective jjoint being AVinchester. 
They were surprised at Kerntown, May 23, 1862, 
by a detachment of cavalry from Gen. Bank's 
arm\-, and taken prisoner, Ijeing conveyed to tliat 
death tra[), Belle Island. Here our subject suffered 
the horrors of starvation to such an extent, that 
when released in September lie was a physical 
wreck and weighed but one hundred pounds, when 
he had entered a strong man, weighing one hun- 
dred and ninety pounds. After his return, he 
was sent to Parole Camp, at Annapolis, and there 
remained until exchanged. When able to join liis 
regiment, which at that time was at Suffolk, Va., 
his licaltli was so shattered by his life in the Rebel 
prison, that he was not able to stand the hardships 
of war further, and upon a surgeon's certificate of 
disability (the i)hysitian sa\ing he could not live 
thirty days), lie returned to his home in Indiana. 
He soon regained health and strength, however, 
and determined to again enter the service. 

On tlie l;')th of July, 1861, our subject enlisted in 
the Mississippi Squadron of tlie United States 
navy, and w.as assigned to duty on the "Fair 
Pl.ay No. 17," of the Mississippi Squadron. He 
held the commission of Master Mate, which is 
equal to the rank of Second Lieutenant in the 
army, and was in service on the lower Missis- 
sippi, Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. After the 
surrender of Gen. Lee, our subject went up the 
Red River to Shreveport, with his command, and 
there Gen. Dick Taylor surrendered to them. In 
all the expeditions Mr. Upstone was ever active in 
the performance of his duty, and displayed much 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPH'C'AL RIX'ORD. 



333 



bravery and faitlifulness. After the surrender of 
Diek Taylor, tlie scjuadron was oidered to Cairo, 
July 23, 18(),'). and there our !«ubject was dis- 
charged on the 27th of August of that year. 

Soon afterward Mr. Upstone came to Nokomis. 
111., wtiiked on a farm for a short time, and then 
spent two years in the South. In the years 1801)- 
70, he served as Superintendent of the farm at the 
Illinois Industrial I'niversity, and while there he 
met with an accident that nearly cost him his life. 
and from which he was laid up for more than a 
year. After recovering, he engaged in the drug 
business in Nokomis, and since then he has been a 
prominent factor in bu.>iness circles, owning at 
present a large general store. He is a ijroniinent 
member of C'ottingham Post No. 230, (J. A. R., 
having been one of the charter members, one of 
its first ollicers, and in lS,sil, its t'ommandei-. A 
Stalwart Republican in his political views, he is no 
small factor in local politics, in which he has 
alwa^'s been a leader, lie has lilled many of the 
local f)Hices, among them being Assessor and Col- 
lector, while at the present time he is President of 
the Town Hoard. A good business man, a shrewd 
politician and a very pleasant gentleman, it is a 
pleasure to meet or have any dealings with him. 

Mr. I'pstone was married on the 1st nf .lan- 
ary, 1870. to Miss Catherine Day, a native of the 
Buckeye State, and they have one child, a daugh- 
ter named Maitha, a charming young lady in iier 
teens. 



^>^^<m 



ON. J. M. TRITTT. The Bar of Mont- 
J: jji gomery County has furnished to the State 

and nation some of their alilest legislators. 

congressmen, senators and executive otti- 
cers, and consists of men who will take rank with 
the best in the land iu all that constitutes talent, 
forensic and advisory. Among its prominent 
members stands Hon. .1. M. Truitt, who is a 
gentleman (if rare attainmenls, and a citizen of 
whom any State might well be proud. He is a 
logical reasoner, and in debate is forcible, decisive in 



statement, and is possessed of magnetic eloquence, 
which renders his declamation of the most con- 
vincing order. In the zenith of his manhond, his 
days will doubtless be long multiplied, and his 
fame grow brighter in the minds of his neighbors, 
who are ever ready to do him honor. 

Horn iu Trimble County, Ky., February 28, 1842, 
our subject was the son of Samuel and C^'nthia A. 
(Carr) Truitt, the fatiu'r a native of Henry 
County, Ky., born December 28, 1818, and the 
mother Ijorn in Indiana in 18 18 also. The elder Jlr. 
Ti'uitt f(,)llowed the occu|)ati(in of a farmer, and 
became very successful in his chosen calling. He 
was of English descent, and the mother is sup- 
posed to be of Scotch origin. She is still living. 
Of the seven ciiildren lioru to this worthy couple, 
one daughter and six sons, two died in infancy. 
Our subject, who is second in order of birth of the 
above-mentioned children, was but three years of 
age when he w.as broght liy his parents to Greene 
County, III. His lii-st educational advantages were 
received in the subscri[ition school at Fayette, 
tliat county, and he remained at home assisting 
his father on the farm untd l«(i2, when he en- 
listed to light f(.)r the Old Flag. 

Our subject joined Company B, One Hundred 
and Seventeenth Illinois Infantry as a private, 
and shortly- afterward was promoted to Orderly 
Sergeant, which position he held for two years. 
He was then ])romotcd to the rank of Second Lieu- 
tenant, and served in that capacity until the close 
of the war. He was in many severe battles, in- 
cluding Ft. HIakely, and fought bravely for the 
Union. He was honorably discharged and mus- 
tered out at Springlield, III., August y, 1805, and 
subsequentl\' si)ent some time at AfcKendree Col- 
lege, of Lebanon, III. In 18(i(! he came to Ilills- 
boro, and commenced studying law with Judge J. 
.1. Phillips, with whom he remained until 1872. 
He was then elected to the Twenty-eighth (icneral 
Assembly, and represented his county in that 
l)ody f(.ir two ycais. 

Following this Mr. Truitt returned to Hillsboro, 
and has practiced his profession here ever since. 
He is the owner of one of the liiicsl lihraries in 
the State. In 1870 he was one of the electors of 
the Republican party, and in 1880 was Repub- 



334 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lican Elector-at-Large of the State, and in 1880 
and 1884 was a delegate to the National Republi- 
can Convention. Mr. Tniitt is one of the oldest 
members of tiie (irand Army of the RepiiLilic in 
the State, and belongs to the F. I). Hubbel Post 
No. 403, of which he has been Commander. He 
is also a member of Lodge No. .51, A. F. & 
A. M. at IlUlsboro, .and takes an interest in this or- 
ganization. He is one of the most prominent 
men of the county, and in every walk of life has 
conducted himself with honor and icnowii. His 
practice is highly remunerative, and he enjoys the 
enviable reputation with court, counsel and 
client, of a practitioner seru[)ulously accurate in 
statement and in every action or position gov- 
erned by the nicest sense of professional honor. 
On October 1, 1867, he married Miss .lennie Black- 
man, a native of Ilillsboro, born M.ay 6, 1847, and 
the daughter of George and Hannah .1. Blackman. 
Mr. and jNIrs. Truitt are the parents of two chil- 
dren, viz.: Ida and Earl B. 



--j4..j.4..j.|/ 



5 •J*»J»^*{*p 




; BEL STELL RANDOLPH has passed the 
uneventful life of a f.arnier, and has con- 
tinued sieadily to pursue "the even tenor 
^^ of his way," and is now classed among 

the prosperous farmers of Montgomery County. 
His farm is located in the midst of one of the 
finest agricultural centers of this count}', and his 
land is conceded to be among the best in the 
vicinit}'; and this is saying not a little, for on 
every hand may be seen superior farms, whose 
appear.ance denotes thrift and pros])erity. lie is 
one of the early pioneers of Bois D'Arc Town- 
ship and a representative citizen, giving his 
hearty support to all enterprises for the good of 
the communit}'. 

Our subject was born in Somerset County, N. 
J., on the f)th of August, 1831, and his 
parents, Lewis and Mary (C'ompton) Randolph, 
were also natives of that State. In 1837, the 
parents emigrated _to what is now Jersey Count}', 
111., of which they were among the early settlers 



The father survived until October 8, 1892, when, 
mourned by all who knew him. he jiassed to his 
final rest. His death removed a pioneer of Illi- 
nois and an upright, kind-hearted man. In Jer- 
sey County our subject grew to manhood, and as 
he was trained to the arduous duties of the farm 
at an early age, it was but natural. |ierliai)s, that, 
when starting out for himself, he should choose 
agricultural pursuits as his occupation in life. 
He first cultivated the soil with a wooden plow, 
and at one time drove as many as ten yoke of 
oxen to break the sod. His early schooling was 
received in the piimitive log schoolhouse of those 
(lays, and although he had not the advantages 
offered at the present lime, he im|)roved every 
moment and became thoroughl}' familiar with all 
the branches then taught. He has since been a 
great observer an(i reader, is well posted on all 
important subjects, and is mainly self-educated. 

Lewis Randolph entered one section of land 
with a Mexican land warrant in what is now Bois 
D'Arc Township, and in IS.'iiJ he sent our sub- 
ject here to plant Bois D'Arc hedge around it. In 
1860, the latter came here and located on his pres- 
ent farm, where he has remained ever since. He 
owns two hundred acres of land, one hundred 
and sixty .acres in Montgomery County, and has 
devoted his energies to putting his farm in good 
tillable condition. June 9, 1869, Mr. Randolph 
was wedded to Miss Minerva Edwards, a native of 
Sciota, Ohio, born October 27, 1838, and the 
daughter of Andrew and Mary (Darlington) Ed- 
j wards, the former a native of Pennsylvania and 
the latter of (Jhio. In lis 18, she moved with her 
[larents to Jersey' County, 111., where they were 
among the first settlers. She was reared to 
womanhood in that county, and is one of four 
children, now living, born to her parents, the 
others being Henry, William and George. 

Mr. Randolpli is one of the five children, now 
living, born to his parents : Abel; llarrut. wife 
of T. Moore; Catherine, wife of James Clopp; 
Ruth and Peter. An elder sister, Almira, and a 
younger brother, Moore, are deceased. Unto Mr. 
and ]Mrs. Randoljih one son has been born, Henry 
M. Ill his political views, Mr. Randolph su[)ports 
the principles of the Republican party, and takes 






S..-^>' 










siMMaiaiiiiaaiaassaiasas^iiaas^^ 



RESIDENCE or WILLIAM WEBST ER, SEC. 18,, NOKOMIS. TR, MONTGOMERY CO., ILL. 







I •,„ % \ \ \ "\ X ^U' 



ffi.'i'.i ^ ■ ■ ■ •^■^ ''' ''•'.■ft'>g-^J'" ■afe,-g^j«t*.t-p^ftif{^u<itf^cflej| 



RE5IDENCE0F ABEL RANDOLPH , 5EC.5.,B0I5 D'ARC TP, MONTGOMERY CO., ILL. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



337 



a deep interest in local politics. lie is held in 
high esleeii) by the entire eouiniunity. imd enjoys 
the distinction to which .'in old settler is entitled. 
He is active in all worthy enteriirises that have 
for their ohjecl the uplmiidin"' of the connty.and 
is a pnblic-siiiritc(l citizen. He and his wife hcdd 
membership in the Methodist Episcopal Chnrch, 
and ai-e active members in the same. 'J'hey take 
mncli interest in social circles, and are esteemed in 
the community in which they reside. By indus- 
try and "(khI manage. lUMit they have gathered 
around tln'in nian\' of the comforts and conven- 
iences of life, and can now sit down and enjoy 
the fruits of their labor. Their long lives have 
been replete with good deeds, and no residents of 
the county are nxnc highly res|)ected. 



II III j^yi^^ip ^ ^ 



}m 



?■ »' ■ ■ " ~- 




ILLIAM WEliSTER. Every community has 
,,-,/#; among its citizens a few men of recognized 
'/ influence and ability, who by their system- 
atic and thorough method of work attain to a suc- 
cess which is justly deserved. That a lifetime 
spent in the piu'snit of one's calling will result in 
substantial success, especially if oersex'erance and 
energy are applied, is found to be true in the case 
of Mr. Webster, who from boyhood has given the 
occupation of agi'icnltiu'e the |)rincipal part of his 
attention. lie is now a resident of Nokomis Town- 
ship, Montgomeiy County. A native of England, 
he was born in Yorkshire, near Uiadford, in 1827. 
The pai'cnts of our subject, (leorge and Martha 
((iath) Webster, were natives of England, and 
tlie father followed the occupation of a wheel- 
wright. In 184 1, the latter emigrated to America 
and located at Shelbvville, Ind., where he engaged 
in the manufacture of wagons. lie also owned a 
farm near that place, and was engaged both as a 
fanner and a manufactuier for many years. He 
acciunulated considerable i)ropeity and was a man 
of much enterprise and ambition. IIis death oc- 
curred at Shelby ville, Ind., in 1874, his wife hav- 
ing passed away a few years prior to his demise. 
Of their children, James is a prominent physician 
at Colfax, Ind., and diaries F. is a civil engineer 



at Indianapolis. The eldest son; William, was 
fairly educated for his dav, but wli(!ii quite young- 
was obliged to take the management of liis father's 
farm, on which he worked until 1851, when he 
came to Illinois. After reaching this State, he lo- 
cated on a farm near Cherr\' \'alley, ^Vinnebngo 
County, and after remaining there for a year and 
a-half, he went tf) Iowa, where he was engaged in 
farming for about live yeai's. He subseijuently 
si)ent one year in Missouri, and in l.S(!(l crossed 
the plains to Denver, Colo. 

Shortly afterward, Jlr. Welister returned to Illi- 
nois, located in Madison County, and on the i;3th 
of August, 18G2, enlisted in Company K, Eightieth 
Illinois Infantry, as a |)rivate. He was sent to the 
front at Louisville, Ky., where his regiment joined 
the vVrmy c>f the Cumberland under (ien. IMcCook. 
He was fust under tire at I'erry ville. Ky., and 
for three years was in active service, fighting 
bravely for his country. For some time after the 
battle of I'erryville he was on guard duty at Mun- 
f()rd ville and engaged in scouting after Morgan's 
army. He spent the winter of 18(;2-G3 at Mnn- 
fordville and, after partici|)ating in the battle of 
jNIilton, in the sin-ing of 18G,'5 he started with 
Strait's lirigade on a campaign through Tenn- 
essee and Georgia. At Home, Ga., he was taken 
sick and was sent to the hospital at Nashville, 
which accounts for the fact that he was not taken 
])nsoner with his regiment. He rejoined his reg- 
iment after it had been exchanged and returned to 
Nashville. I>ater, he took an actise part in the 
battle of Mission Uidgc, lieing in the Eleventh 
Army Corps, under (4en. Howard, and afterward 
went with (tcii. Sherman 'scommand to Knoxville, 
to relieve Gen. Burnside, « ho was l.ieing besieged 
by Longstreet. 

After remaining in Chattanooga during the wiii- 
terof 18(i.S-(i 1, tlie army started on the Atlanta Cam- 
paign in the spring of the following year, and our 
subject participated in all the battles of that noted 
cami)aign, among them those of Dalton, Kesaca, 
Marietta and the fall of Atlanta. On his return 
to Nashville, he f<. light in the battles of Pulaski 
and Franklin. Afterward the army was re-cn-gan- 
izcd and his regiment was assigned to the Third 
Brigade, Fust Division, Fourth Arm}' Corps. He 



338 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



accompanied Gen. Sherman on his raid into North 
Carolina, and while at Greenville heard of the 
assassination of President Lincoln. He was soon 
ordered to Camp Harker at Nashville, and there 
remained until mustered out June 10, 18G.5. He 
was discharged at Springfield on the 19tli of the 
same month. 

After the wai-, i\Ir. Webster remained in Mad- 
ison Count.\', 111., until the spring of 1866, then lie 
came to Montgomer}' Count)- and was engaged in 
farming near Litchfield for eleven years. In 1877, 
he came to Nokomis Township and has here been 
engaged in tilling the soil ever since. He has 
met with sulistantial results in this occupa- 
tion and is now the owner of a fine farm of 
nearly five hundred acres, all in a high state of 
cultivation. He is one of the highl\' respected, 
influential and wealthy farmers of his community. 
He was married iu Indiana, in 1848, to Miss Olivia 
Smith, a native of the Hoosier State, and the 
daughter of .Jonas and Abigail Smith, the father a 
prominent farmei- of that State. Their union was 
blessed by the birth of the following-named chil- 
dren: (i. W., a successful attorney of Nokomis; 
G. H., a farmer of Nokomis Township and a prom- 
inent factor in local politics; and Walter, also a 
farmer in Nokomis Townshi]). The mother of these 
children died in Iowa in 18,56. 

The second marriage of 5h-. Webster occurred in 
J8.')8 and united him with IJachel Wallace, who 
died March 20, 1889, leaving four children, as fol- 
lows: Clara, who married D. Bote, a farmer by 
occupation; Jessie, the wife of C. H. Rhine, who 
resides on one of Mr. Webster's farms; Orpha, who 
married Charles Sullivan, a farmer of Roundtree 
Township, and Minnie, who resides at home. Polit- 
icalh', Mr. Webster is now and has always been a 
stanch Republican. 



?1LK.\Z.\R II. WHITE, a promiueiit farmer 

l^ of Bond County, resides on his two hun- 

ir~- ^^ dred and more acres of fine land two miles 

northwest of Greenville, 111. The subject of this 



sketch was born where he now lives, October 5, 
1835, and was the son of John B. AVliite, who was 
a native of Rutherford County, N. C. 

Thomas AVhite, our subject's grandfather, was a 
native of the old North State, and was of Irish 
birth, and became a teacher and farmer in North 
Carolina. He made two trips north on horseback 
prospecting and looking out fine land in the State, 
and ill 1820 he brought his family hy wagon and 
located on section 9 in this township, where he 
entered three hundred and twenty acres of land. 
He was one of the first settlers and built a log 
cabin here. 

The red men became his familiar visitors, 
and among them Mr. White found many who pos- 
sessed fine traits of character. Deer and wolves 
abounded in the country, and wild turkeys flew 
over the streams, but as he was no hunter he 
did not pursue any of the wild creatures for sport. 
During the summers he farmed, and when the 
months of deep winter settled down over the land 
he taught school. He was the first teacher in 
Bond Couuty, and at that time all of the schools 
were on the subscription plan. Mr. White was a 
giant iu size and strength, weighing three hun- 
dred and thirty-three pounds, and he accomplished 
much in his life. His demise occurred at the age 
of seventy-six years, and in him the Presbyterian 
Cliuich lost a member who had always performed 
his full duty. In politics, he was a Whig and 
later became a Republican. 

The father of our subject came here when about 
thirt}' years of age, and here found the lady who 
became his wife. He .settled upon the present farm, 
built a log house, and developed the farm and be- 
came the owner of two hundred and seventy-five 
acres. His stock was considered fine, and he car- 
ried on his farming in a careful manner. In the 
eighty-fourth year of his age he passed away, hav- 
ing been a member in good standing in the I'les- 
byterian Church. In politics, he was a Republi- 
can, and h:id been a Whig in his earlier d.ays. 

The mother of our subject was Margaret Robi- 
son, a native of North Carolina, who came here 
with her parents when but a little girl and settled 
in Madison County, near Edwardsvillc. She was 
the mother of eight cliildren: Mary, now Mrs. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RPXORD. 



.s;!9 



Elain; Tliiimas W.. deceased; Boiiali R.; Harriet, 
now Mrs. Roliison; .IdIiii M., ileceasod; Samiu'l 1').; 
.lames A., deeease'i; and Eleazar II. The niollier 
had been a inemL)er of the Presl)yterian Church, 
and her neighl)ors and family missed a good, liind 
woman when she was calUnl away at tlie age of 
forty -six years. 

Our sul)ject was reared on the home (ihiee on 
which lie now resides, and was educated in llie 
pioneer schoolhouse, and remeniliers the slab 
benches, and big wide chimney made of mud and 
sticks. In his day, deer and wolves were still seen 
in great numbers around his home, and one of the 
duties of the young boys in the families was to 
carefully close the slieep pens, as the wolves did 
not tire of mutton if the boys sometimes did. At 
the death of his father, our subject took the liome- 
stead, and later was uiarried to Mrs. Harriet A. 
(oiodson, who was born in this township. Four 
children were born to them: Ida K., John B., Hat- 
tie A. and (ic<_iige W. 

John (ioodson, Mrs. White's father, was born 
in Logan County, Ky., on the 7tli of March, 
1801, and his father was William (ioodson, a 
native of New England, who, with his father, was 
an early settler of Logan Count y.Ky. There Mrs. 
Goodson "s father married, and moved to this county 
in 1S2(). The tri|i was made liy wagon and all 
camped by the roadside at night by a. tire of logs. 
One night the lire grew low, and while they were 
all asleep a (lanther ci'ei)t up and was justalioutto 
spring upon the baby, when its father awoke and 
snatched a fireljraiid and dr<.ive the animal away. 
This child lived to become the mother of sixteen 
children. 

The land which j\lr. ( ioodson entered he lived 
upon until the time (^f his death, which occurred in 
1IS6;3, when he was about sixty-two years old. llo 
was a Cuml)erland Presbyterian and services were 
held in his house. The fatherof Mrs. White married 
in Kentiick}', and had three children when he came 
to Illinois in 1826. At that time, he entered land 
on the southeast quarter of section 27, in tiiis 
township, and there Iniilt a log house and worked 
very hard. At the time of his death, he owned 
four bundled acres of land, which he had obtained 
by good manageinent. In his jiolitics, he was a 



Democrat before the war,' but during that struggle 
he became a Republican. A man of sound judg- 
ment and great foresight, he predicted many things 
at tlie outbreak of the war which came to pass 
afterward. He was a member of the Cumberland 
Presbyterian ( 'liiin-b. 

The mother of i\frs. Wliite was Elizalieth Perry, 
who was born in Logan County, Ky.,June7, 18(10. 
She became the mother of twelve children, eleven 
of whom she reared to maturity. She had em- 
braced the faith of the Cumberland Presbvterian 
Church and died September l.'i, 184L The land 
which is owned by our subject comprises two hun- 
dred and one and one-half acres, all of which is 
contained in one body and is mostly improved. 
He has successfully combined grain and stock-rais- 
ing and has bred some very tine horses. lioth Mr. 
and Mrs. White belong to the Presbyterian Church, 
ill which the whole family far back has taken great 
interest. Formerly our subject was a Republican, 
but he now aiUliates with the People's paitv, and 
at [iresent is acceptably tilling the ofhce of School 
J)irector. 



-*• — ^4:#-1rl^f- 




?,^^ 



LBERT F. (iWYN. Our subject is a prom- 
inent merchant of Sorento, and to him be- 
lt longs tiie credit of starting the first store 
'OS* ill tlic' town, lie is a native of Bond 

County, and was born not f.-ir from his present 
place of residence, March .5, 1812, being next to 
the eldest in a family of live children, comprising 
three sons and two daughters, that were born to 
Alexander and Cinderella (McCaslin) Gwyn. Of 
this family there are but two now living, onr sub- 
ject and his eldest brother, William T., who resides 
at Peru, Kan. 

Alexander Gwyn was born in Maur County, 
Tenii., ill 1809. His father, who.sc name was also 
Alexander, was Iku-ii in the same place in 178;'). 
Mrs. Alexander (Jwyii was a native of Princeton, 
K}'., and she and her husband came to the Prairie 



340 



POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



State all! Hit is.id, and located in Bond County, 
where Mr. Gwyn died in 18;jl. Tlie original of 
this sketch was reared on a farm and received a 
fair education. On tiie breaking out of the Civil 
War he enlisled in the service of his country as a 
private in Company I, of the Sixth Illinois Cav- 
alry, joining his company October 2, 1861. 

It would be a long and tedious tale to attempt 
to follow Jlr. Gwyn minutely through his more 
than four years of brilliant service. We will, 
however, give the more important events that 
ti'anspired. lie was in the forty-eight days' siege 
at l\)rt Hudson and his regiment was the first to 
enter Port Hudson. He then campaigned through 
Alabama. Jliddle and Western Tennessee, and 
fought Hood at Florence, Ala.; he was in the bat- 
tle of Nashville, and also in that hottest of battles — 
Franklin; and was on the meraoraljle Grierson 
Raid, which stationed at LaGrange a detachment 
of one hundred and twenty-live detailed men, of 
wliom our subject was one. They were .sent in 
advance to locate the enemy, and after riding all 
day through the mud and rain, worn out, wet and 
hungry, they wra])ped themselves in their blankets, 
and (in March 29, 1863, laid down on the cold, 
wet ground to rest. While sleeping they were 
surprised by a murderous band of rebels, who out- 
numbered them three to one. As their deadly fire 
was poured upon the sleeping soldiers, tlie latter 
s|)rang to their feet, and, though it would have 
been the natural imjjulse under such circumstances 
to turn and run, they held their ground, and 
after a desperate light completely defeated the 
enemy. 

We give herewith tlie order issued by the Com- 
manding (ieneral on this occasion, and which 
fully explains itself: 

'Headquarters I'irst Division, 

Sixteenth Army Corps, 

L.vGiiAMiH, Texx., A2>ril 2, 186.3. 

''General Order No. 46, by direction of Maj. 
Gen. S. A. Hurlbut, commanding Sixteenth Army 
Corps: 

"The (iencral comnianding tlie First l)i\ision 
returns thanks to the cavalry which, under 
the command of Lieut.-Col. Loomis, of the 
Sixth Illinois Cavalry, so gallantly repulsed an 



attack made upon them at midnight, by^ a rebel 
force outnumbering them threefold, near Belmont, 
Tenn., on the 20th of March, 1863. By such de- 
termined fighting glory is won, and we cannot 
think of our brave men sjiringing from their slum- 
ber, aroused b^' a murderous volley, and rushing 
upon the foe and routing him, without a thrill of 
pride. Well does our c<_)iintry merit such glorious 
service, and may all our troops loyally render it 
wherever opportunity may be afforded. It is 
hereliy ordered that a copy of this order be ad- 
dressed to each commissioned and non-commis- 
sioned otiicer and private who participated in the 
affair referred to, as evidence of his bravery and 
good conduct. 

" By command of Brig.-Gen. William Soule 
Smith, commanding First Division. 

" To Private Alfred F. Gwyn, Company I, of the 
Sixth Illinois Cavalrj'." 

In fact, it has been stated, in an order issued by 
the commanding olticei', that this cavalry accom- 
plished feats that were not thought possible for 
cavalry to do; that they never attacked a fort they 
did not take, and never defended a line they did 
not hold. For more than a year our subject never 
had a tent or other shelter. He endured such 
privations for m(n'e than four years that his coun- 
try might be saved. He was finally discharged, 
November 24, 186;'). 

Mr. Gwyn was married in 18()4, while home on 
on his veteran's furlough, his bride being Miss 
Lydia A. Curlee, From this union two children 
have been born: Nellie, the wife of W. D. Wirt, 
who is Mr. Gwyn's partner in business; and Jessie, 
a young lady who is now completing her educa- 
tion. The subject of this sketch resumed his 
farming operations after returning from the war, 
and continued to be thus employed until 1871, at 
which time he turned his attention to the mercan- 
tile business, and located at Elm Point, where he 
remained for six years. The succeeding five 
years, or from 1876 to 1882, he was in business at 
Hillsljoro. In 1882, when the town of Sorento 
was being laid out, he was the first on the ground. 
He built the first building and sold the first goods 
from the place, and also was the first Postmaster. 
He has ever been an ardent Republican, and is a 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



341 



memher in liii;h standing of the Grand Army of 
tiie Rc|iuhlic'. Fiaternnlly, he is a meml)er of the 
Modern Woodmen. At the present time of vvrit- 
ing(18S)2) Mr. Gw^yn is completing tlie linest resi- 
dence in Sorento. Here he expects to [jass tiie 
evening of life snrroiinded by iii.s family. 



l.^-^ ON. J. 15. LANE is ranked among the rep- 
I) resentativc citizens of Montgomery County, 
and there is prol)ably no one more de- 
)) serving of minition than he, for \\\s resi- 
dence within its borders has extended over a con- 
siderable portion of his life. During tins time he 
has served in various oflicial capacities and always 
with such satisfactory results that nanglit Init 
words of commendation have been bestowed n|;on 
him. lie was born in Cheshire County, N. II., 
Septemlier 10, 182G. a son of Dr. T. L. Lane, who 
w,as born in Marlborough, N. II., September 1, 1800. 
He attended school at Groton, Mass., and at Han- 
over, N. IL, and graduated from an educational 
institution of the latter place in 182-1. 

For the pi-actice (if his [n'ofession Dr. Lane first 
located in Sullivan, N. H., in 182.3, l.iut removed 
from there in 1832 to Lunen burgh, Vl., where he 
remained two years. Gilsum, N. II., next became 
his home, where he remained until 1S.'?.S, and from 
there removed to Daysville, 111., and in IS II lie- 
came a resident of Fillmore, where he was called 
from life September 1, 1S1!». His father, Capt. 
John Lane, was born in Lunenburgh, M.ass., and 
obtained his title in tiie Revolutionary War, in 
which he was a courageous and faithful soldier. 
He was of iMiglish descent. The wife of Di-.'l'. L. 
Lane was Miss Roxanna Harvey, a native of Mass- 
achusetts, where she was born August 2, 1802. 

The maternal grandfather, Kimber Harvey, was 
liiirn in the old May State in 17.")5, and during the 
Revolutionary War attained to the rank of .Sergeant 
He was of English lineage. Dr. T. L. Lane and 
Roxanna Harvey were married at Marlborough, 
N. H., October 2.3. 182;'). and became the parents of 



two sons and two daughters: ,1. P>., the subject of 
this sketch, who is the eldest of the family; 
.lane A., born November 2;"). 1828, died May (i, 
IfS.'iG; Timothy was' born April 2, 18.'!0, and died 
Ainil 20, 1832; and JNIary .1., born Dccemlier 1;'), 
1837, the wife of Andrews!. Richmond, of Oiegon. 
.1. I!. Lane remained with his father and mother 
until tlieir respective deaths, and in 18(50 started 
a store in what was Old Fillmore, of which place 
he was a|)pointed Postmaster in 18;j4, and very 
efficiently tilled the position until Cleveland's ad- 
ministration, when he was dis[)laeed. U|.)on the 
election "f ilari'ison, his son took the office. The 
town of Fillmore is built on the farm wiiich was 
owned l)y Mr. Lane, and it was owing to his exer- 
tions that the village w.as founded. He was first 
married on the !)th of M;ii-cli, LSI 8, to Miss Sarah 
Harris, who died .Tilly 1, 1S,")1, having borne her 
husband a son, Timothy, who is a resident of l''ill- 
more. Mr. Lane's secoiul marri.age was celebj-ated 
on the 3rd of February, 18r)2, Hacliel .S. Post, a 
daughter of .lacob and Jlargaret (Cress) Lost, lie- 
eoniing his wife. .She was l.iorn in Cabarrus County, 
N. C, and at the age of .seven years became a res- 
dent of Montgomery Couiit\-, 111., where she has 
since resided. 

This union resulted in the birth of seven chil- 
dren: Margaret is the wife of Rev. Hiram L. (ireg- 
ory, a minister of the jMethodist Episcopal Clinrch, 
and a resident of California; Torrance H. is associ- 
ated with his father in the mercantile business; 
.Vugusta F., widow of George W. Lewey, is a.ssis- 
tant in the iiost-oftii'e at Fillmore; Ora E., a, suc- 
cessful farmer, resides at l''illinore; Carrie M. and 
Flhi L. are at home. .Mr. Lane is the owner of 
four hundred acres of land in and adjoining tlie 
village of Fillmore, wlu're he and his son conduct 
a Large general mercantile establishment. They 
Iceep a large and well-selected stock of goods, 
which they dispose of at very re.asoiialile ratios, and 
their efforts to plea.se their patrons, their genial 
and cordial manners and upright business methods 
li.-i\c made their house a very popular and liber- 
ally iiatroiii/.ed (uie. 

Mr. Lane is ;i pronounced Republican, and on 
lh;il ticket w:is elected Associate .ludge in IS(!'.). 
During his four years of service in that position jus- 



342 



PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tice was meted out with an impartial hand, and 
decisions were made after careful and painstaliing 
study of the evidence adduced. lie was also a 
|)0i>ular and intelligent Justice of the Peace and 
adjusted tlie difficulties of liis neighliors in a man- 
ner very satisfactory to all concerned. Mr. Lane 
was at one time the owner of six hundred acres of 
land, but gave each of his boys considerable real- 
estate, and was also ver\' liberal with his daughters. 
He is a prominent citizen of his own township, 
and is respected and esteemed for his sterling in- 
tegrity, sound judgment, broad intelligence and 
progressive ideas. 



>EORGE MINDRUP. Agriculture has one 
of its most energetic representatives among 
the German ]iopulation of Nokomis Town- 
shii), jNlontgomcry County, in the gentleman whose 
name appears at the iiead of this sketch. A prosperous 
and progressive farmer, Mr. IMindrup is a native of 
Germany, liaving been born in Oslerland, December 
6, 1836. His fatlier was a farmer, with all the ideas of 
thrift and industry common and necessary to the 
German agriculturist. Our subject was reared on the 
home farm, and in the intervals of duties incident 
to a fai'mer lad, he received a common-school ed- 
ucation, which was, however, verj- different from 
the education received by the boys of to-day. 

Our subject's parents lioth passed away in tlieir 
native land, and when young Mindrup liad i-ea,ched 
his niajorit}' he emigrated to America, his advent 
hither taking place in ISoT. He atonce [proceeded 
to I llinois. and located on a farm near Mount ( )live, 
in .MacoLipin County. There he continued until 
18()8, when lie came to this county and piuchased 
eighty acres of land in Kokomis Townsliip. When 
all that thrift and energy could do was done for 
this small tract, and it had been made to blossom 
Uke the ruse, he later added a larger tract to the 
original puichasc. 

A hc)me procured, our subject cast about for the 
right woman to give it indeed a home atmospliere. 



Miss Lena Husman proved to he his heart's choice, 
and they were united in marriage March 2, 1865. 
She also was of German birth and parentage. 
Nine children have taken their place in the plea.s- 
ant home, in which kindness and appreciation are 
the chief characteristics. A great affliction was 
laid upon the eldest son, whose name is Harmon. 
When but two years of age, the child had a severe 
illness, and as a result of this he lost the power of 
speech and hearing. He is now a student in tlie 
deaf and dumb school at Jacksonville, 111., and his 
progress there is gratifj'ing to himself and jiarents. 
Tlie other children are still at home, and are 
named as follows: Lizzie, Frederikie, Richard, An- 
nie, Henry, Otto, Etta and Lena. Tlie older children 
are receiving every advantage afforded b_y the 
public scliools of their vicinity for a thorougli and 
practical education, and will doubtless take their 
places as respected citizens in the localities chosen 
for tlieir liomcs. Blr. Mindruj) is an ardent ad- 
herent of the Republican party in theory, but 
takes but little active interest in politics, aside 
from casting his vote. 



^^- 



^ 



\T| OHN S. HALL, a very prominent farmer of 
Pleasant Mound Township. Bond County^ 
III., was born in Jefferson County, Ya., 
within eight miles of Charleston, January 
17, 1813. His present home is located on section 
7, in Pleasant ^lound, where he has a farm of four 
hundred and fifty- acres and a house beautifully 
placed on a gravel bank in the midst cif a natural 
grove. 

Tlie fatlier of our subject was Joshua M. Hall, a 
native of Jefferson Couiitv, Va., born in 1780. He 
was a farmer and also a boatman on the Potomac, 
and died in his native count\- at the ago of fifty- 
eight years. His father was of English extraction 
and bore the same name as liiinself. The mother 
of our subject was Charlotte (Strider) Ilall. and 
was a native of the same county and State as 
her husband. She lived to be but fiftv-nine years 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



343 



old. Her fnther w:is Isaac Strider, a native of Ger- 
many, wlio was one of tlie eaily settlers of the 
State of \'iri>ii.ia. The family of jNIr. and Mrs. 
Ilall consisted of six children, all of whom grew 
to maturity, married, and reared families that are 
now scattered over the United States. 

Our subject is the third child and oldest son of 
his parents' family. He was reared and educated 
in his native place and received a common-school 
education. In I8;51. he came to P.ond County, III., 
and bought the farm where he now resides, but re- 
turnee] to Virginia in February, 1832, though in 
the following year he came back, traveling on 
horseback and b}- stage and river. In February, 
1837, he married JMiss Jane M., the daughter of 
Middleton Smitli, who was also born in N'ii'ginia, 
in IMorgan County. Mrs. Hall reached liond 
County, 111., in 1833, with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. 
Hall were the parents of eight children, of wiiom 
six were daughters and two sons. They are: 
Sarah V., deceased wife of Eugene Seymour; j\Iary 
O., wife of K. P. McMurran, who is Postmaster 
at Smithliorough; Charlotte, wife of E. Y. Gaskins, 
of Zion Township, Bond County; .lohii S., residing 
near iiis father; Ellen A., wife of Thomas Milton, 
of Montgomery County, 111.; William C, residing 
in Greenville; Emma, wife of O. E. Bennett, a com- 
mercial traveler; and Frances I., wife of (iilliert 
Guller, of Sniithborough. All of our subject's 
children wore born on the farm where he now re- 
sides, and they have all been happily married and 
lie is now the proud grandfather of eight childien. 

Our subject has a farm of four hundred and 
fifty acres, almost all of which is fenced and cnlli- 
vated. When he located on this place it was all 
wild land, and it must be a great satisfaction to 
him to sec how his efforts have been rewarded. 
Fields of waving grain and nodding corn liavt! 
taken the place of the wilderness that llrst pre- 
sented ilscir to his gaze when lie made his trip 
here in IS.'!!, lie has fuinid it most profitable to 
be a general faniiei'. and has made considerable 
money in the raising of line stock. His first Pres- 
idential vote was cast for William Henry Harrison 
in 183(), and in 18111 he again voted the same 
ticket, and has been a Whig and a Repulilican ever 
since. He has held the oIlU'c of School Director 



for a number of years. At one time he owned 
six hundred acres of land in the county, Init now 
finds that four hundred and fifty arc quite as much 
as he cares to manage. He is well known and is 
highly regarded as one of the old settlers of the 
place. 



^i^^^^l^:l« 



■SDWAKD IK )()(;, wholesale and retail 
[^ dealer in Hour, feed, hi,des and wool, con- 

ducting his business at the corner of State 

and Edwards Streets, Litchfield, is a man of fine 
character and excellent business habits, and is 
regarded a.s an active factor in extending the 
commercial interests of the city. He is of pioneer 
antecedents, his father being one of the early 
settlers of this State. 

The jiarents of oui' subject were Constantine and 
Cliailotta (]\Iuiemann) Iloog. The senior Mr. 
Hoog was liorn in Baden-Baden, fJermany, about 
sixty-live years ago, and when i|uite a young man 
emigrated to this country and settled at .Staunton, 
111. From Staunton he removed to Carlinville, 
where he married, and afterward moved to Litch- 
field, in the year 185;'). He was one of the oldest 
mei-chaiits doing business on State Street, and had 
represented the Second Wai'd as Alderman for two 
successive terms, and tilled the position with hoiujr 
to himself and satisfaction to his constituency. 
The family of ( 'onstaiitiiie Iloog and his wifecon- 
sisted of five children: Our subject; Anna; Lena, 
wife of Eilwin Austin; Ida, :i school teacher at 
Mt. Olive; and l.otlii', who renuuns at home. 

Our suiiject recei\-e<l his ediu'atioii at the 
High Schools of Litchfield .'uid .bines' Coni- 
mei<-i:il College of St. Louis, lie first embarked 
on his business career liy opening a. store where 
he de:iit in hides and wool, succeeding his 
father in this line. He m;ide a suct'css of this 
venture from the first, and soon added Hour and 
feed departments, and thus built up ;i harge trade 
in the vieinily of Litchfield. He is .also a stock- 
holder in the Litchfield Hotel Coni]iany. 



344 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Ou the 2oil of October, 1881, our Mibjeet mar- 
ried Jliss Minnie Joliuson, daughter of Mr. W. H. 
Johnson, a l)usine,ss man of this city. Miss .John- 
son was liorn in Carlinville. They have one child 
living, Artliur Valentine, whose birthday occurs 
on A'alentine's Day. Waldo, the younger child, 
died on the first anniversary of his birthday. 

Air. Iloog has built a fine home on the corner of 
State and Burr Streets, where he has resided for 
the past two j'ears. He occupies a rising position 
among the foremost young men in Litchfield, is 
ver}- poinilar and wields quite an influence in 
social and fraternal circles. lie is likewise held in 
good repute by thp citizens in general, for his hon- 
orable character and energetic nature. 



^^^z 



z^ 




AYFIKLD TRl'ITT, well known ,as a suc- 
l\ ccssful farmer of JNIontgomery Count}', 
1* was born at Carlton, Trimble County, K^'., 
November 2, 1839, and is the son of Sam- 
uel and Cynthia A. (Colbert) Truitt. The father 
of our subject was born December '28, 1818. in 
Kentucky, into which State his fatlier had come 
from Virginia, becoming one of the early settlers 
there. The mother of our subject was also a K6n- 
tuckian, and was born March 16, 1818. The father 
was a farmer by occupation, and moved his family 
into Illinois in 1HI2. He settled near Fa\-ette, 
(ireene County, on a farm, and continued there un- 
til the gold fever of 18 I'J struck thecouutr}-, when 
he went to California. He went with a party from 
Alton, and remained about two years, but, believ- 
ing that Illinois was a better State, he returned to 
Greene County. In November, LSol, he moved 
into ]\Iontgomery County, where he settled on a 
farm four miles west of lIillsl)oro. 

When the Bee Line Railroad was Iteing c(jn- 
structed, our subject's father had a contract t(> 
grade a mile between Butler and Litchfield, but he 
died in Februarw 1S(;;5. He steadfastly refused to 
acccrpt any otlice but that of School Director, and 
was a man greatly respected. The mother of our 



subject married for a second husband Richard Col- 
bert, and after his death she married Edward Gun- 
newalt. She still lives. The children boin to the 
parents of our subject were as follows: Warren, who 
now represents the Government as United States 
District .Judge at Alaska, went to Oregon in 1870, 
and there began the practice of law. He is married 
and has two children. J. M. lives in Hillsboro, 111.; 
Cynthia Ann died in infancy; Russell resides in 
Walla Walla, Wash., where he practices medicine; 
and Oliver H. died when young. • 
j Our subject was reared on a farm, and attended 
the countiy school, beside which he had the ad- 
vantage of two terms at Hillsboro. He leinained 
with his parents until he had reached his twent}'- 
first year, and then he married Frances E. McAdams, 
Octobers, 18C1. She was the daughter of Thomas 
and Marj' McAdams, and was born and reared 
about five miles south of Hillsboro. At her death, 
which occurred April 23, 1869, she left three 
children. .lames M. lives in Roodhouse and is 
an engineer on the Chicago & Alton Railroad. 
He married Belle Stone, and has two children. 
Thomas has gone West, and is now engaged in 
mining in Montana; and Francis died in infancy. 
Our subject married a second time, his wife being 
Margaret K., the daughter of Jacob and Mary 
Kessinger, natives of Kentucky. Three children, 
William M., Elmer and Lester, have been born of 
this union. 

Mr. Truitt has been a prominent n)an in his dis- 
trict. He has held the office of Supervisor since 
1884, with the exception of one year. His early 
teaching had made him a Democrat, but in 1872 he 
saw occasion to look at public matters in a dif- 
ferent light, and he has been a Republican since. 
While serving as Supervisor, he has had charge of 
the most important committees. He was Chair- 
man of the Committee on Public Buildings one 
year, and is now a meinljer of the Finance Coin- 
niittee. He has been a member of the Township 
Central Committee for live years. For three yeais 
he was Iligliway Commissioner in Bois D'Arc 
Township. 

After his marriage, our subject fai-ined the home 
place west of Hillsboro, and remained Ihcre until 
1867, at which time he sold out and moved south 





jJl^'^^j0^ 



hi'H-a^^-^ 7f//iytS^(^/^^-t4^i,.(^ 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



347 




of Hillshoro. He went to iNIissouii and Kansas in 
the fall of 1870-71, and when he returned he lo- 
cated on a farm in Mont<>onierv County, remain- 
ing there from 1.S72 until 1878. lie then settled 
on his present farm, where he has three hundred 
acres of finely ini|)roved land. The place is farmed 
liy himself and his brother, . I. .M.Truitt, in partner- 
ship. These gentlemen are well known and highly 
connected throughout the county. 



-''A 



IIAKLKS WHITKHOUSE, who resides on 
section 7, Walsh ville Township, is one of 

the most extensive land-owners of Blont- 

goniery County, and is widely known throughout 
this |)art of the State. lie well deserves represen- 
tation in this volume, and with })leasuie we i)re- 
sent to our readers this record of his life. lie was 
i)orn in the kingdom of Prussia, Cermany, Decem- 
ber If, 183.'i, and is the youngest in a family of 
five sons and one daughter born unto William 
and JMargaretta (Elsbein) Whilehouse. In the 
Fatherland the name was siielled Whitehaus. Our 
subject was reared to manhood upon the farm 
and was educated in accoi dance with the laws of 
his native land. 

In 1853, when at the age of twenl\' years, 
Charles Whitchousc determined to .seek his fortune 
in the New World, whither four of his brothers 
had preceded him. The family name was changed 
by Wdliam for his neighbors began calling him 
Whitehonse, and he soon found it necessary to 
assume that name, which the other brothers also 
took. The name of Whitehonse is now known 
fcir miles in ail directions, for the members of the 
family have mounted far up the ladder of fame 
and fortune. William, who died many years ago, 
left a va-it estate of nearly three thousand acres 
of as fine land as can be found in Illinois, 
and to this his heirs are constantly adding. 

After coming to this counti-y, nuv >ubjccl 
worked as a fai'm ham! fur about four \ears and 



then purchased eighty acres of land in Macoupin 
County. Five years later he purchased the farm 
on wliieh he now resides. As his financial resources 
have increased, he has made other purchases,, until 
at this writing his landed jjossessions aggregate 
nine hundred and twenty acres. He has not only 
been a successful farmer, liut has also won |)ros- 
perity as a land speculator and coal operator. 

In 1856, Mr. Whitehonse was married to Miss 
F'uge Arkabauer. She died in 1887, leaving five 
children, namely: Martha, wife of Fred Neimann, 
Jr., a wealthy 3'oung farmer; Annie, at home; 
and Harmon and Charles, who manage the fa- 
ther's farm. Hannah is deceased. Mr. AVhitehouse 
was a second time married, in 1888, the lady of 
his choice being Mrs. Annie (Johnson) Arkebauer, 
a native of Hanover, Germany. They are prom- 
inent and highly respected jieoiile, who hold an 
enviable i)ositi<.>n in social circles. 

In addition to his farming interests, Mr. White- 
( liovise has been connected with the opening up of 
( various coal mines in this locality. He is a man of 
superior business ability .and, with a fertile mind 
directing indnstrioiis hands, he has achieved suc- 
cess. In [lolitics, he is a Republican. He served 
for one term as Town Supervisor, and was again 
nominated, but the election proved a tie and in 
casting lots Jlr. Wliiteluni.se was the loser. He 
has never been an oflice-seeker, for he prefers to 
devote his entire attention to his large property, 
which he personally oversees, although he takes 
no active [jart in the work. lie is a member of 
the (jerman Lutheran Church and for man}' years 
was one of its oflicers. 



-^-^>^ f 



a ■ 



H 



J^^'IK )MAS M. .lliTT. ''Some men are born 
^K^^ great, some achieve greatness, and some 
■V^^ have greatness thrust upon them." The 
subject of this sketch is one of those men who 
achieve their own success. Most, of our public 
meii.;ind men who haye legitim.atcly grown ri<'h, 
are men of in tclligcnce, integrity , and peiseyerance. 



16 



348 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Of this class Mr. .lett is an honored member. He 
is intensely patriotic and American in sentiment; 
a rci)resentati\c man of liis tyi)e, in full sympathy 
with the proiiress of llie times. 

Thomas AI. Jett was Ijorn near (4reenvilh', Ikinrl 
County, III.. M:iy 1, lSC>-2. His father. Stei)hen ,1. 
ilett, was a native of Virginia, tliough he came with 
his parents to Illinois at a very early age, so that 
the most interesting memories of hi>chihlhood are 
connected with his home in the Sucker State. 

Mr. .Ic^tt, the grandfather of our subject, w.as an 
extensive planter in the Old Dominion and 
ow-ned a great many slaves. The mother of our 
subject w.as born in North Carolina in 1829. Her 
maiden name was Nancy Booher. Her father, .lohn 
ISooher. was among the early settlers of Mont- 
gomery County, 111. Thus we learn that two of 
the Old Colony Slates are i'e|(resented in our sub- 
ject and that he traces his lineage from the brave 
men and women whose stout hearts and noble deeds 
"made and preserved us a nation." 

Stei)hen J. .Tett w\as a prosperous farmer, doing 
much to advance the interests of agriculture in his 
vicinity, hence, the early life of our subject was 
spent on the farm. He attended the common 
school of his neighborhood, laying well the 
foundations for the liberal education which he 
later secured in college at Valparaiso, Ind., gradu- 
ating from the scientific department of that insti- 
tution with high honor in 1884. From his earliest 
years, he was a favorite with his .associates, and his 
(piick, intellect and studnuis habits, together with a 
frank and friendly manner, won for him man.\' a 
bright prophecy in regard to his future. 

.-Vfter his graduation, our subject liecame a 
teacher in the i)nl)lic schools of both ISond and 
Montgomery Counties, during which time he com- 
menced li> read law, and in March, 1885, he be- 
came a student in the ollice of .Judge Phillips, of 
llillsboro. In .hiiie, 1887, he was admitted to the 
liar and soon after located at Nokomis, where he 
lirst hung out his shingle. Jt was not long before 
his logic, elo(iuencc and ability attracted the atten- 
tion of his brother attorneys and the citizens of 
Montgomery County, and in the spiing of I 889 he 
was brought to the front by his party and elected 
to the resi)onsit)le ()llice of State '.s Attorney foi' that 



county, the duties of which office he has performed 
for the past three years to the great satisfaction cif 
his constituents and much credit to himself. Din- 
ing the convention in the spring of 1892, he was 
lenominated for another four-year term with but 
little or no opposition. 

Mr. .Jett selected his life companion in the per- 
son of Miss Mollie Clotfelter, and their marri.age 
was celebrated on the 24th of December, 1889. 
One child, Ross W., Ii.as been liorn to this union. 
ilrs. .left's father, .James W. Clotfelter, is a promi- 
nent farmer and stock-raiser of llillsboro. Like 
his father and grandfather before him, Thomas ;\I. 
Jett is an enthusiastic Democrat, and a leader in 
their councils. He is a prominent member of the 
jMasonic fraternity, also a member of the Knights 
of Pythias, and one of the county's most energetic, 
and thoriuigh-going citizens. He is a man of fine 
personal ap})earance, and magnetic influence. A 
bright futui* is opening before him. He is in the 
prime of life mentally as well as in his [)hysical 
health. From his past record, we judge that what- 
ever may betide him in the future, there will be no 
occasion to doubt his honesty of purpose and de- 
votion to duty. Logical in thought, terse in 
speech, pleasant in address, when he speaks he 
wins respect and commands attention. Illinois has 
no brighter or more genial man than Thomas M. 
.Jett. 



r^ 



AMES C. WHITE, a prominent farmer and 
an old settler of La (Grange Township, is 
the owner of three hundred and thirty-five 
acres of land in liond County, and is a 
man well and favorably known. The ancestors of 
our subject were among those pioneers who came 
into the State from Mrginia and Kentucky, where 
their names are yet well represented. 

.lames AVhite w.as the father of our suliject and 
his native State was Kentucky, and from there 
also came Stephen \\'hilc. the graudl'atlier, who 
in that section carried on the various i'm|iloyments 
of carpentering, tanning and farming. He made 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



349 



tlie journey into the vvilrlerness in 1817, by wagon, 
and took u|> one bundled and sixty acres of land 
on suction 25, in tliis tovvnsbip, and here lie die(l 
five years later. The father <if our subject eanie 
herein 1822 and entered forty acres and here 
built a loy bouse, and raised and cribbed a crop of 
corn, after which, having thus proved the fertility 
of the soil, he returned tii Kentucky and brought 
his family here in the spring of 1)^23. 

At that time tlie Indians had not all de[)arted 
for other hunting-grounds, and deer and wolves 
still remained, and, if they could have thought, 
no doubt their o|)inions of the invading strangers 
would have been no more tlattei-mg than were 
those of the n<ible red men. At this place 
.lames White developed a small farm, liut died 
in the year 1844, at the age of lifty-tour years. 
The mother of our subject w.as Nancy Owens, and 
she was born in Rockingham C'ount\', \'a., wliei'e 
she was reared and became the mother of eight 
children, viz: Claylxirn i\I., Shelton M., .lolm II., 
Fannie M., Stephen R., Ambrose U., .lames C. and 
Catherine .1. The mother died here in 1853, at 
the age of sixty-tive years, both she and her 
husband having been consistent members of the 
church which Alexander Campbell gave bis life- 
time to establish. i\Ir. White was a Democrat, as 
liad been his ancestors. 

The maternal grandfather of our suliject was 
M.ason Owens, who was a native of \'irgiuia and 
served for seven years in the Revolutionary War. 
which he entered at the age of sixteen .as a drum- 
mer boy. After the struggle was over he 
learned the trade of a wheelwright, as he possessed 
mechanical genius and could fashion almost anv- 
thing, and also carried on farming. He was on<^ 
of the early settlers of Kentucky, and also of 
Montgomery County, III., where he died at the 
age of eighty-six years. 

Our subject was reared on the farm where bis 
birth took place March 11, I82G. His school days 
were spent in the old log schoolhouse wliicli 
he needs no artist to paint and hang on his wall. 
He remembers well the long walk to reach there, 
and the rough slab seats, the wide chimney of 
sticks, the one window covered with greased 
paper, and the latch sli'ing hanging out, which old 



custom has been t.aken in modern da3's for a sym- 
bol of hospitality. His school d.ays were few, for 
the cattle had to l)e closely watched, and he was 
the one to assi.st in caring for the stock. At one 
time, oiu' subject remembers seeing a herd of deer, 
numbering forty-live, feeding with his neighbor's 
cattle, and the wolves were so bold that unless 
the pigs and shee[) were carefully guarded the_v 
would not only take tribute, but could lie depended 
upon to cari'y off the proverbial lion's share. 

As soon as he was regarded in the family as of 
enough account 1,o be ti'ust(^d to make a bargain, 
our subject was sent to St. Louis to sell wheat 
and hogs, which he hauled all the way, making 
the trip in live days, which necessitated a cani])- 
ing out on the way. These trips were usually 
made by se\eral farmers at the same lime, as their 
numbers were a protection against savages and 
wild beasts. At the age of eighteen years, our 
subject began woi'king f<.)r himself, and be received 
lifty cents per day. This was preliminary to his 
marriage, which took place December Ki, 1852, 
when he esiioused Nancy .1. Wood, who was born 
in this townshii) Ajiril 12, l.S.'il. Her people were 
ver\- early settlers here, and a, sketch of her f;im- 
ily appears lielow. 

The father of i\Irs. White w.as Charles Wood, and 
her grandfatiier was Thomas Wood, and both weie 
natives of South C:arolina,of ( Jerman descent. Tlie 
ancestors came to this counti-y in Colonial times. 
The grandfather was a f.armer and miller, who re- 
moved to this county abi>ut> I821(, and died here 
at an ad\anced age. Tlu^ father of Mrs. White 
was a mechanical genius and could work at the 
(■arpentci''s trade, t.ake a h:nid at bricklaying, 
or make a piece of fuiniture; in fact, he must have 
been a ni.-m who would ha.\e [irovi'il himself a per- 
fect mine of usefulness in a pioneer settlement. 
His arrival here was In a two-wlieeled cart, in 
which he came across the mountains, being two 
months on the way, and eamiiing out during the 
nights. He reached here m I82(). 

Mr. Wood reached this cfninty with |!4((, aiul 
he then took up eighty acres of (;overiimeiit land 
and later took eighty more, and, as he prospered, he 
took more until he linally owned over one thousand 
.acres. He built a log cabin and settled on .section 



350 



POKTRAIT AJsD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



29, in this townsliip, where he farmed very exten- 
sively and raised great numl)ers of cattle, sheep 
and hosjs. Just at this time, lie was drafted into 
the army for the Black Hawk War, but before he 
started the war ended. At that time deer and 
wolves were i)lentiful. and thonsands of prairie 
chickens flew over the land. No game laws were 
necessary at that time. IMr. Wood was not much 
of a hunter for siiort, but he could use his rifle 
with good effect when he so desired, and many 
were the hungr}' wolves prowling around his high 
sheep pen who bit the dust from a shot frohi tliat 
same rifle. 

There were several small stt)res in the neighbor- 
hood, but J\Ir. Wood was obliged to haul all of 
his produce to St. Louis over Lidian trails, 
the trip often requiring five days to accomplish. 
His death took jilace when ho was sixty-nine 
years of age. Tlie mother of Mrs. White was 
Sarah McCormick, who was born in Scotland and 
came to America with her parents when a child. 
She reared eight children, as follows: Caroline, 
Eli, Ezra, Nancy .Tane, David (deceased), John, 
Sarah A. and Ira. The mother died at the ripe 
age of sixty-nine, a good and noble woman, and 
a member of the Baptist Church. jMr. AVofid 
had been a strong Abolitionist, notwithstanding 
the fact that he had been i-eared in South Caro- 
lina, the first State to secede in the late war. 

>Ls. White was reared here and attended the 
same kind of school in which her husband re- 
ceived the rudiments of his education. After 
marriage, i\h-. and Mrs. White settled in the home 
place and lived there until 1860, when they re- 
moved here. This was not (iovernment land,l)ut 
. Mr. White has made all of the improvi'meuls and 
lias now three hundred and thirty-five acres of 
fine fertile land. He carries on a system of mixed 
farming and also handles some stock, although 
lie now rents almost all his land, as lie docs not 
desire to pass his latter days in toil. He is a 
carpenter by trade and has done some building. 
His home residence is a conifortalile large frame 
house, w-hicli he built in 1 8(!(). 

In politics, Mr. White is a Democrat and be- 
lieves in the principles taught by that great party. 
Mrs. White is a good, kind wcnnan, a consistent 



member of the Church of Christ. This worthy 
couple have never had any children of their own, 
but under the safe shelter of their roof and by 
their fireside twenty-seven friendless little ones 
have found a welcome and a home. No words of the 
biographer could place this good man and woman 
more favorably before the public, and this Rkcoui) 
is jiioud to show to the future this example of 
true Christianity. ''Inasmuch as ^e have done it 
unto the least of these, ye have done it unto 
me." 



l-^l-l^l 






C^^HOMAS T. BAKER, I). 1). S., is a popular 
i/f^S} young dentist, who is located at the corner 
Ngi^' of State and Kirkham Streets, in Litchfield. 
He has been in business here since 1889, and has a 
constantly increasing practice. The State of Ken- 
tucky was the home of his parents, William T. and 
Maiy (Hough) Baker, who came to Illinois a num- 
ber of years ago, but the father died when Thomas 
T. was an infant. Our subject was born in this 
city, July 2(1, 18(>6, and this has since been his 
home, vvhere he has been known as a manly boy, 
an ambitious student, and now a successful profes- 
sional man. He has shown energy and persever- 
ance, and his home jieople have shown by their 
patronage that they have eveiy confidence in his 
skill and ability. 

Mr. Baker was educated in the schools of this 
place, and was graduated from the High School in 
1885. He lost no time in the choice of a profes- 
sion, but immediately entered the office of Dr. 
Barefoot, and remained with liiin for three years. 
He took his first course of lectures in Indianapolis, 
and later attended the Missouri Dental College, at 
St. Louis, from which he was graduated in the 
Class of '90. Upon his return, he immediately be- 
gan to practice his profession. He entered into 
partnership with Dr. W. A. Alexander, and the 
firm continued until 1890, when Dr. Baker bought 
out his partner's interest, and now continues the 
business with a student assistant. He has built up 
a large and lucrative iiractice, and has all of the 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



351 



appluiuce,-. whirli iciifler the l;il)or of a dentist one 
of relief instead of one of pain. His work com- 
pares favorably with tliat of ohler practitioners, 
and what he has not yet learned by experience, he 
overbalances by his new methods and late discov- 
eries of science. 

Our subject lias always been interested in music, 
and is now a member of the band. He is also iden- 
tified with the order of the Knights of I'ythias. He 
is considered one of the desirable members of the 
social circles of Litchfield, and one who will make 
his mark in his tji'ofession. 



_♦==•>===•»• / 




^EOROE L. SETTLEJIIRE is the enterpris- 
inii' and popular proiirietor of the Wabash 

^ Elevator, wbieh is located nortli of the de- 
pot in Litch.tield. His father, David O. Settleraire, 
was born in tape (iirardeau, Mo., an<l cameto.b'r- 
sey County, III., in his boyhood, when the country 
was as yet unsettled. Amid pioneer surroundings 
he there grew to maturity, and on starting out in 
life for himself, lie became a meclianic. Later, he 
went to Carlinville. and engaged in the grain busi- 
ness. AVhih' at (iillespie lie established a mill, and 
conducted b(_>tli lines from 1860 until 18(37, when 
he sold out and embarked in the grain business at 
this place. He built an elevator here that has a 
capacity of twenty-five thousand bushels of grain. 

Mr. Settlemire's marriage oecuned at Carlinville, 
the bride being Miss Sarah .1. Adams, who is still liv- 
ing. To them were born two children, on i- subject, 
and lolaE., who became the wife of W. A. Aruthers, 
of tlie Mt. 'N'ernon CarCompany. I )a\icl (). Settle- 
mire was one of the organizes of 1 he Car Coin pain, 
and for ten or twelve years was the President of 
w^liat was called the Litchfield Car Company. In 
April, 18<)0, he established the ?It. Vernon Car 
Works, in which he is the main stockholder, ;ind 
of which he has lieen President, lb- has been a 
very active and progressive man in the locality, 
and has done much to make the city what it is. He 



has always been interested in the grain and eleva- 
tor business, but .lanuary 1, 18<)2, he sold this Imsi- 
ness to his son (jeorge, and now gives his time en- 
tirely to the Mt. \'ernon Car Company. 

The birth of our subject took place .luly 2(1, 
18.")1, and after coiii|ileting his edueation in tlu^ 
schools of this city, he immediately went into busi- 
ness. The grain business was not new to him, as 
li(^ had lieen acipKiinted with elevators all of his 
life, and lie took entire charge of the one built by 
his father. He does an extensive liusiness, and 
ships to Eastern and Southern markets, while his 
trade in the local market is also large. 

The marriage of Mr. Settlemire took [ilace in 
November, 1887, when he was united in marriage 
with Miss Ella E., daughter of Hon. P. 1!. I'pdyke, 
who is an old and respected citizen of this place. 
Two children have lieen born to >L-. and Mrs. Set- 
tlemire: David P. and Willier Linn. The family 
of which Mr. Settlemire is a, memlier has been 
identified with the [irogress of the nation lliroiigh 
several generations. His life has been such as to 
add lustre to the honored name he bears, and ho has 
acquired prosperity by close industry and the ex- 
ercise of excellent judgment. 



- — <r ->- 



«^-^^<i 



ffi^^^ 



\¥r^'OSTEK E. WAIT, a prominent larmer of 
" Pond County, was born in Central Town- 
ship, November 11,1837. He is also one 
of the brave veterans of the late war. His father 
came to tliis State in ISl.S and became one of the 
most prominent men of his times. The family his- 
tory is given in full in the sketch of Henry W.Wait. 
of this township. ( )iir siilijeet was reared upon the 
farm and was educated in the early schools iif the 
time and place, but at the age of twenty-one lie 
liecame a student at the rniversity at I'.urliiigton, 
biwa.and took a course in book-keeping and some 
literary studies also. Two years were pleasantly 
spent here, but in M;iy, IS(;i. he entered Comiiain- 
E,()ne Hundred and Thirty-fifth Illinois Infantry, 
and was mustered into the service of the Union 



352 



PORTRAIT AiSTD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



arrnj' at Mattoon, 111. He did service in Missouri, 
on tlie Iron Mountain Railway and in St. Louis, 
doing guard duty, and was mustered out October 
1, 18G4. 

The marriage of our subject took place June 10, 
18G3, when Miss Margaret Conie liecarae his wife. 
She was born in this county March 13, 1843, and 
seven children have been the result of her union 
with Mr. Wait. Four of these are living, as fol- 
lows: Sarah L. married Austin W. Grant and lives 
in Tulare Count3', Cal.; Mabel \., lone C. and 
Lillian 15. are at home. William F., George L. 
and Foster are deceased. 

After his marriage, oui- subject settled on a place 
near the home farm, and in 1865 removed toilad- 
ion County, where lie remained upon a farm his 
father owned until 18()8, when he returned to the 
old home farm and settled there. lie now possesses 
two hundred and fourteen acres, all in one body 
and all improved. He carries on mixed farming 
and has become known as a breeder of Hue stock. 
His improvements have all been substantial ones 
and those which add to the value of a place. 

In his political opinions our subject is a Repub- 
lican and is always very outspoken upon the sub- 
jects of public interest. His relationship with 
the Grand Army Post in Greenville is very 
pleasant, and his position in the county is one of 
esteem, both on account of his own admiralfle 
qualities and also on account of his family rela- 
tionship. 



Ky ^rt p im ^ >^ - 



VTIOSEPH BIGIIAM. The oldest members of 
a community are doubly entitled to the re- 
spect and esteem of their neighbors when 
their long lives have been replete with acts 
of kindness, and their whole career marked by 
integrity and uprightness. The time-honored and 
respected gentleman whose name appears at the 
head of this sketch makes his home on section 20, 
East Fork Township, Montgomery Count3\ His 
native home was in Ilagerstown, Washington 



County, INId., where he was born January 27, 
1804. His fatlier, Josejjh Bigham, was a native of 
Pennsylvania, and his father, Hugh Bigham, was 
also bijni in the Keystone State, of Irish parentage. 
Our subject's great-grandfather, Bryan Bigham, 
was born on the Green Isle of Erin, and came to 
America at a |)eriod antedating the Revolutionary 
War. 

Joseph Bigham, father of our subject, selected 
liis wife in the person of Miss Elizabeth Eenbicli,a 
native of Pennsylvania and the daughter of Chris- 
topher Eenbich, who was of (!erman descent. Our 
subject was one of a family of children born to 
this union, and was reared in his native county, 
receiving a fair education in the common schools. 
AVhen fourteen years of age, he began learning the 
shoemaker's trade and folloM'cd this for many 
years. Industiions, enterprising and progressive 
he prospered in his cliosen calling and became one 
of the substantial men of his locality. 

Our subject was married the first time in Wash- 
ington County, ]\[d., in 1830, to Miss Mary 
A. Kershner, who was born in that county and 
State, and to them were born seven children, 
named in the order of their births as follows: 
Samuel K. and Mary A., deceased; Emanuel K., 
born in Maryland in January, 1835, and married 
Miss Laura M. McGahey, who with his wife now 
resides on the farm with our subject; Catherine J. 
E., the wifeof Louis Tice, of Greenville. 111.; James 
H., of Kansas; Charles IL, of Bond County, 111.; 
and John W., of Arkansas. Mr. Bigham's second 
marriage was with Adelia Paisley, who bore him 
one daughter, S. M., who is now the wife of Harri- 
son Hanner. The children now living have pros- 
pered in their various oc( upations and are highly 
esteemed in whatever community they make their 
home. 

Mr. Bigham came to Montgomer}- County, III., 
in 1845, and took up land from the Government. 
Although the land w.as wild upon which he settled, 
and the implements he used to cultivate his land 
rude and unhandy, the soil was rich, .'md as the 
work of clearing progressed and the crops were put 
in, it yielded a rich return. Now, when well along 
in years, this worthy gentleman has a good farm 
of two luiiidred acres all under cultivation, and 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



353 



eiglity acres of timber, and can now sit down and 
enjoy the fruit of Ins labor. For many years he 
has been identitied with tlie interests of Jlont- 
gomery County and in iiim tiie coranuinity lias a 
faithful and unswerving friend, ever alert to serve 
its best interest and generous in his contributions 
towaid every uiovenient tending to the general 
advancement. 

Mr. Bigham's pleasant residence is a home in- 
deed, and is at once a monument and a reward 
of patient continuance in well-doing, hard toil and 
sober living, lie ranks as a noticeable illustration 
of that indomitable push .and energy wliicii char- 
acterize men of will and determination. His lirst 
Presidential vote wa? cast for .lackson. but he is 
now a stanch Republican. 



'OIIN W. ROSE, the efficient and capable 
Clerk of the city of Eitchfield, has occupied 
his present office for the past ten yeais, and 
during the entire time has given entire satis- 
faction. 

Mr. Rose was born in (irisham Township, near 
the present site of Donnelison, October 1(3, 1H17, 
and has the honor of being the son of two worth}' 
people, Henry and ]>eah (Mei.senheimer) Rose, the 
former of whom was one of the early settlers of the 
county, having come from his native State, Ken- 
tucky. His good wife was a native of North 
Carolina and both were (jf (lerman descent. These 
two parents died when their son, our subject, was 
still (juite young, the fatiier passing away when 
John was only three years old, and the mother 
leaving the little helpless fellow a year later. 

Tills cliild, who was destined to be our subject, 
grew to maniiood in his native county and received 
a good common-school education. During this 
time he had no permanont home, liut he was a 
plucky fellow and never allowed anytiiiiig to dis- 
courage him. Desiring more of an education than 
was afforded by the public schools, he earned suf- 



ficient money to carry him through a course at 
Lincoln Universit}', Lincoln, 111. Aftei- linishing 
his course he returned to his native [ilace and en- 
gaged in school teaching, following this avocation 
for twelve years, from 1868 to 1881, although not 
all the time in Illinois, .as he was at Independence, 
Kan., from 1872 to 1871, teaching in the city 
schools. During all of his experience as a teacher 
he gave entire satisfaction, and the educational in- 
terests lost a valuable advocate and promoter 
when Mr. Rose abandoned that pursuit to respond 
to the call of his city. 

In 1883 the (.'ity Council appointi d .Mr. Rose, 
without regard to |)olitics, to till a \;icancy in the 
position of Clerk. So creditably did he serve, that 
he was elected the following year for a full term 
and has been re-elected ever since. It would l)e 
impossible to find anyone who could lill Mu> posi- 
tion in any more creditable manner than Ihis in- 
telligent gentleman does. U|ion liis ap|)ointment 
to office Mr. Rose concluded to iei)resent several 
insui'ance firms, and now is the agent of twelve of 
the best corporations of that n.aturc. In addition 
to the very fine business he is attending to in 
that line, he deals in real estate, and is a Notary 
Public, although he only aims to carry on the in- 
surance business in addition to the duties of his 
office. By virtue of his office of Notary Public he 
is alile to do conveyancing. 

Mr. Rose is a member of Charter Oak Lodge, A. 
F. and A. M.; Elliott C'hai)ter and St. Omer Com- 
mandery, and lias liecu the Master of the lodge for 
five years. He was honored in l.s.s;! by be- 
ing appointed Deputy (4rand Lecturer tor the State 
of Illinois. In 18i)0 Mr. Kose was aiipointcd ( Jrand 
Examiner by (iiand Master .lohn M. I'ierson, of 
(iodfrey, wliich honoraliie and important [losition 
he still retains. In politics he upholds the 
princi|)les of Democracy, but his wife just as ar- 
dently sustains the principles of tlie Republican 
l)arty. 

Mr. Rose married Miss Mary .J. rir(>en, the daugh- 
ter of Thomas and Amanda Green, of Raymond 
Township. This lady first saw the light of day in 
Fairfield County, Ohio. The day that saw these 
two people made one was October 20, 1870, and 
since that time fourehildreii have come to brighten 



354 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tlieir home, l)ul two died in infancy; those sur- 
viving are: Pearl .T. and Mabel. Mr. and Mrs. 
Rose are prominent members of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, of which Mr. Rose is Secretary 
and Treasurer of the Board of Stewards. Mrs. Rose 
is a Director in the Litchfield Library Association 
and also is one of the Grand Officers of the Order 
of the Eastern Star, a connection of the Masonic 
order. 

Such people as these make a city important in a 
county, and if all the citizens of Litchfield had its 
interests as much at heart as Mr. Rose and his 
estimable and capable wife, the city would soon be 
one of the first in this portion of the State. 



„ ^^<. 



^-« 



c^_ 



'if GUN I5URKIIARDT. We who have been 
born under the most advantageous circum- 
stances of American life, enjoying the prin- 
ciples and freedom secured to us under 
our republican form of Government, feel a pecu- 
liar fraternity for representatives of the Swiss 
nation, that republic which is now the oldest in 
existence, and we feel a pride in the stories of Tell 
and the loyal mountaineers who would yield no 
obeisance to the jUistrians. The farmer of whom 
we write, and who now resides in the town of So- 
rento, was born in Switzerland, Canton of Berne, 
November 17, 1841. 

.Tohn Burkhardt is a son of Peter and Kate 
(Martin) Burkhardt. His father, who was an hotel- 
keeper in the Old Country, died when he was but 
a child of three years, after wliich he became 
an inmate of an uncle's home. Up to his sixteenth 
year he attended school, and there gained a good 
])ractieal education. When but a boy, he entered 
a clothing house in order to learn the business, and 
with the restlessness of j-outh he determined to 
seek new fields in which to make his fortune. In 
1857 he came to America, borrowing the money 
to pay his expenses. He at once proceeded to Bond 
County, and here remained for two years; then, in 
1859, he crossed the plains to Pike's Peak, thence 



going to Calif<_iriiia. There he engaged in the min- 
ing business for five years, and made a small for- 
tune, liut, as was often the case, he was finally left 
with InU a mere pittance, having been beaten out 
of his earnings by his partners. Sickening of camp 
life, he returned to Bond County via the Isthmus 
and New York, and was for a time employed on a 
farm, and then became ijrojirietor of a cider fac- 
tory, in which he made some money. 

Our subject finally purchased forty acres of 
land adjoining the town of Greenville. This he 
sold, with a handsome profit, at $100 per acre. In 
1876, he married Miss Augusta Siemens, daughter 
of the late Christian Siemens, of Sorento, and im- 
mediately after the marriage the couple settled on 
a large farm near Greenville. Mr. Burkhardt was 
engaged in agricultural work until 1883, when he 
came to Sorento and built the large hotel known 
as The Southern, and which he still owns. This he 
ran until a year ago, when he went to live on a 
fine farm inherited by his wife at her father's death. 
Since coming here he lias rented his hotel prop- 
erty, which brings him a comfortable income. 

Of the seven children boin to Mr. and Mrs. Burk- 
hardt, only five are living: Johnnie, Ida, Arthur, 
Albert and Winnie. All are being educated in the 
schools at Sorento. Robeit E. and Eslella W. are 
deceased. Mr. Burkhardt is a Republican of the 
most pronounced kind. Sociall}', he is identified 
with the Modern Woodmen. In church matters, 
he and his family attend the German-Lutheran 
Church. 









u 



ir^ILLIAM SIECK. This prominent and 
wealthy German-American farmer of B(>nd 



^yfl County is located in La (irange Township 
on a fine farm, which his own untiring industiy 
has gained for him. He was boin in the prov- 
ince of Hanover, Germany, March 4, 1830. After 
attending the common schools of his native 
place, at the age of fourteen he commenced to 
learn the tailor's trade, to which he served an ap- 
ineuticcshii) of four years. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Accordinsf to the cuslom of his country, Mr. 
Sieck Mfuked fur three ypfn's as ;\ joiirneyinnn, 
and then re^olved to come t(.i America. Tlie city 
of Baltimore was reached July .'5, 185;), after 
which he proceeded to AVashin<>ton, I). C, and 
there worked at his trade as a journey man for 
about six years. Meanwhile he saved enough 
money to [lurchase a tailor shop in that city, a 
fact which spoke well for his thrift and economy. 
His money, amounting' to some ><'M), which he liad 
saved f(n' a beginning in the New World, was 
stolen from him on tiie way over, and he was 
in a penniless condition when he reached tlie.se 
sliores. 

The tailoring business which our suliject con- 
ducted in Washington was very successful, and he 
hart a large and lucrative trade, numbering among 
his patrons some of tiie best-dressed public men 
of the day — Jefferson Davis, Stephen A. Douglas, 
and many senators, congressmen and niemliers of 
the marine corps. 

Our subject was married in the cilyof >\ashing- 
tou to Miss Catherine Kaiser, who was boiu in the 
province of Hesse, (-lermany, and came to Amer- 
ica in liSTil. They became the parents of six chil- 
dren, as follows: Louise, August, William J., 
Sabrina (fths. White), Henry and Charley. In 
1880, our subject sold out his business in Wash- 
ington and, coming West to Hlinois. bought his 
pre.seut farm of three hundred and lifty-li\e acres, 
whicii he made his home. He has spent several 
thou.sand dollars in improvements here and has 
one of the liuest farms in the county. His stock 
and horses bring him prolitable returns, and he 
sells many hogs. His land, in the perfect state of 
cultivation to which he hfis brought it. yields 
large crops of grain. 

Our subject was reared a Lutheran and still 
belongs to that church, and has .always liberally 
c(Mitributed to its supjxirt. In liis political opin- 
ions, he is a J{epublican, having early decided i 
that the in-inciples enunciated by that party were 
most in accordance with his views. Although I 
still cherishing a warm fei'ling for his native land, 
he has become thoroughly Americanized. His | 
fellow-citizens have several times elected him 
Road Commissioner, and so popular is he with his 



neighbors tiiat in 1888 he was offered the nomi- 
nation of Hepreseutative, but he would not ac(;cpt. 
Among tlie residents of the town.ship none are 
more highly regarded for the sterling trails of 
character which make up a good citizen, kind 
neighbor and Christian man, than the original of 
this sketch. He has shown what one man can 
accolnpli^ll by hard work and close attention to 
whatever he m;iy have in hand, and what man 
has done there is alvv.ays ;i chance for man to do 
again. 



F. WEAVER, a prominent citizen of N(.i- 

( @/ul l komis, 111., was liorn in jMadison County, 

(1) this State, near l''-dwardsville, September 

8, 1838, a son of John and Anna M.ariah 
(Ilandshy) Weaver, and a grandson ol John 
Weaver, who came to America from Switzerland in 
1801, settlingin Fairfield County, Ohio, near Lan- 
caster. Here John Weaver, the father of the subject 
of this sketch, was born in 181(i, his father having 
died just prior to his biith. Henry Ilandshy, the 
grandfather on the mother's side, also came from 
Switzerland, in 1 8(18, and located at Harper's Ferry, 
Md.. where his daughter, Anna Mariali, was Iiorn 
in IS 11. ill IS.'i;?, she liecame a resident of ALidi- 
son County. III., and the foUovving year Mr. 
Weaver located there, their marriage taking place 
in 183G. The mother died on the 4th of .Inly, 
1891, at the advanced age of eighty years, but the 
father is still a resident of Madison County, near 
where lu' settled more than half a century ago. He 
has now attained the age of seventy-six years. 

A. F. Weaver was born and reared on a f.arm, 
and grew up as di<l other farmers' boys, attending 
school and tilling the soil until his seventeenth 
year, at which time he entin'cd the Ohio Wesleyan 
Fniversity, at Delaware, ( )hio, from which he was 
graduated m 18(;i. On the ',1th of August, IMC-i, 
his n;inu^ could be found on tlu' rolls of Com|iany 
1), One Hundred and Seventeenth Illinois Infan- 
try, as a Sergeant, and he at once went to Jlemphis, 



358 



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 



Tfciiii., where hi? regiment did guard and picket 
duty for nearly a 3'ear and one-half, but during 
this time several trips were made to the interioi' 
and valuable service was rendered to tiio Tnion 
army. The}- went to Helena, Ark., also to Holly 
Springs, and during the siege of Vieksburg were on 
the ground, but were held in reserve, and were not 
actively engaged in the campaign. The army was 
re-organized at Yicksburg in Januar}', 1864, and 
IMr. Weaver's regiment was attached to the Third 
r>rigade. Third Division of the Sixteenth Army 
Corps, commanded by Gen. A. J. Smith. He was 
in the expedition led by Gen. Sherman in Feb- 
ruary, 1864, against Meridian, Miss., and was a 
participant in several severe skirmishes, quite a 
severe battle being fought near Jackson, Miss. The 
enemy were driven out of Meridian, and the place 
was captured, and after destroying the railroads 
and other property, they returned to Vicksburg 
early in March, and then the command to whicii 
he belonged was sent down to the river to join 
Gen. Banks m an expedition up tiie Red River. 
They were to meet him at Alexandria, but finding 
the river blockaded they disembarked at Simsport, 
and marched across the countrj' to the rear of Ft. 
DeKusy, where they engaged the enemy and cap- 
tured the fort and some twelve or fourteen pieces 
of artillery, together with a number of prisoners 
and a large amount of commissary stores. Tliev 
then proceeded to Alexandria, where they were 
soon joined by Banks and his army, after wiiich 
they proceeded up the river and marched in tlie 
direction of Shreveport, La. 

Mr. Weaver's brigade guarded the rear of 
Banks' army, and on the 8th of April engaged the 
enemy at Mansfield, after which it covered Banks' 
retreat down the river, beating back the enemj- at 
Yellow liayou and other points. This expedition 
lasted for seventy-six days, and during sixty-six 
days of this time his command was under the ene- 
my's fire. They next started on an expedition 
under (len. Smith to Tupelo, ISIiss., where they 
met and defeated Forrest's army, after whicli they 
went to Memphis, and a short time later st.irted 
for Hoiiy Springs, tlience went Soutli to Ox- 
ford. They were soon ordered back to Memphis, 
and up tlie river to Cairo, thence t^i St. Louis, af- 



ter which they were in different parts of Missouri 
looking after the rebels under Gen. Price. They 
met him at Fianklin. diove him out of the place, 
and followed iiim across tlie State, then gave up 
the cliase and returned to St. Louis. They then 
took passage on board boats for Nashville, to join 
Gen. Thomas, where they arrived December 1, 
1864, and on the 15th they attacked Gen. Hood, 
the command to which Mr. Weaver belonged mak- 
ing tiie advance; the first shot from the rebels' 
guns i)assed directly under Mr. AVeaver's foot as 
he was in the act of taking a step. The second 
day's figiit resulted in the routing of Hood, after 
whicli they camped at Eastport, Miss., fora month, 
and about the 1st of Februarj-, 1865, they em- 
barked on transports for Cairo, from which they 
went to New Orleans. In that city they camped 
on the old battleground of New Orleans of the 
War of 1812, and in the latter part of March they 
joined Gen. Canby at Mobile Bay, and assisted liim 
in destroying Spanish Fort and Ft. Blakely. They 
next went to Montgomery, Ala., but after two 
days' marching received the joyful news that Lee 
had surrendered. They tlien went to Montgomery, 
where they remained until .July 16, 1865, when 
they were ordered to Springfield to be mustered 
out, and on August 10 were discharged. 

Our subject at once returned to Madison County, 
111., and the following .Tanuary, 1866, he was mar- 
ried to Miss Martha A. Dunn, of Zanesville, Ohio, 
after which he farmed in that county for two 
years. Since then he has been a resident of IMont- 
gomery County, and is the owner of a good farm 
near Nokomis, which he tilled for about fifteen 
years, then removed to town and opened a mer- 
cantile establishment, but retired from this busi- 
ness, and for the past two years has been engaged 
in the insurance business in addition to looking 
after his farm, which consists of two hundred 
and forty acres. He owns sixty acres near No- 
komis, where his fine residence is located. He has 
been a life-long Democrat, and has filled a number 
of local offices. He is a Mason, and for many 
years has been Secretary of his lodge. He and his 
wife became the parents of the follo'wing children: 
Lorena, wife of G. VV. Churchill, Jr., of Godfrey, 
ill.; Winnie, Dunn, Ilattie, Earl and Harry. Two 



PORTRAIT AND BTOGRAPIIICAL RECORD. 



359 



children died in infancy. Mr. Weaver is a well- 
known and highly honored man of business, and 
his npriyht walk throuoh life has won him numer- 
ous fiiends. His war record was a very honorable 
and clean one. and naught, has ever been said de- 
rogatory to' his honor. Dunn, a boy of lifteen 
years, has lieen .'ittending school since the age of 
six years, and during that time has been al)sentsix 
days, and never tardy. Ilattic h.as a record equally 
good — during her seven years of school-life she has 
))een absent live da\s. and tardv once. 



i:a;' 



^@l^l^^^ 



Wll 



^' R. GUM, a retired farmer of Bond County, 
111., and now a valued resident of Old Rip- 
ley, has dev(_>t('<l .'dmost his entire life to 
the successful cultivation of tlie Western 
prairies, and has watched with eager and intelli- 
gent interest the growth and n|)\vard progress of 
the neighborhood and county which have been his 
home for over lifty years. Horn .]uly 10, 1822, 
our suliject was but two years old when his 
parents emigrated from his birthplace, Colum- 
bus, Ohio, and settled in INIadison County, Ind., 
in 1821. 

Mrs. Isaac (ium, the mother of our subject, was 
of Scotch descent, but as she died when the son, J. 
R., of whom we write was very young, he never 
learned much of her early history or antecedents. 
His father, Isaac (4um, was a native of Virginia, 
and a pioneer settler in Ohio. His wife had shared 
his home and with him experienced many cares and 
the privations of frontier life, and when, after 
years of faithful devotion, she died in 182."), her 
death was indeed an irreparable loss. The father 
remained with his children in Indiana for a num- 
ber of years, but in 18;!;» he located with his fam- 
ilv in Illinois, settling in ISond County, where he 
died in 1818. 

Our subject was one of a family of nineteen 
children, of whom Init five are now surviving. 
Sarah, the widow of Charles Wall, resides in Rip- 
ley Township. Catherine, who married a man of 



the same name, but no relation of the family, is 
the wife of Lemuel Gum, and lives near St. .loseph, 
Mo. Kli/.alieth is the wife of .lames Jones, a suc- 
cessful farmer of Madison County, III. I'lU'iy is 
now a citizen of Alton. Onr sulijci-t, .1. R., was 
among the youngest of the large famil\' of brothers 
and sisters. He had but very limited advantages 
for an education, and is mainly a self-made man. 
The occupation r)f his lif(! has confined him to a daily 
round of general agricultural duties, and through 
untlagging industry and patient toil he has won 
an independence, and now makes his home in ( )ld 
Ripley with his sons. 

In 181."),.!. R. (iuni an<l Alvina l''ile were united 
in marriage. The wife of our subject was a daugh- 
ter of Daniel File, an early settler of the county. 
;\Iis. (uim, who was a highly esteemed lady, died 
in 1878, after becoming the mother of live chil- 
dren, three of whom are yet living and reside 
within easy distance of the old houiestcad. Sarah 
.lane is the wife of Elisha Ray, a well-known and 
prosperous farmer in Ripley. Isaac, the present 
Tax Collector of the Townslii|i, a prtmiincnt factor 
in local politics and a successful business man, was 
born ,Iune 11, 18."i8. He received a good educa- 
tion ill the public schools of the county, and about 
five years ago he bought an interest in the mer- 
cantile business with his brother I^. R. at Old Rip- 
ley. After a time, other affairs requiring his at- 
tention, he disposed of his share of the business to 
E. R., who became sole proprietor of the store. 
Isaac is ))olitically a strong Democrat, and has held 
his present official position of Tax Collector for 
three terms, discharging the duties of his office 
with prompt fidelity and energetic service. In 
1879, he was married to Miss Elizabeth A. Ray, a 
native of the town of Ri[iley. Mr. and Mrs. Isaac 
(ium are the parents of a bright young girl, Alice 
Etiiel. 

E. R. Gum, a leading merchant and progressive 
citizen of Ohl Ri|)le\, is th(^ youngest son of our 
subject, and was born Kebriiaiy 24. 18(;;^, the 
last child to come into the family group. He re- 
mained on the farm willi his father long after his 
mother's death, and was twenty-five 3'ears old 
when, in 1888, he entered into the mercantile 
business at Old Ripley with his brother. He had 



3fi0 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



well improved tlie advantages of study in the pub- 
lic schools and engaged with eflicient ability in 
the duties of mercantile life. Continuing his in- 
terests in the stoie in Old Ripley, he also managed 
a store at Alton ,1 unction for a time, but when he 
became the sole owner of his present prosperous 
establishment, he disposed of his interest at Alton 
.Junction. Now, giving his undivided time to his 
large and ra|)idly increasing business, he finds but 
little leisure, yet, taking a deep interest in local 
and National affairs, is widely known as a pro- 
gressive citizen. 

.July .3, 1887, E. R. Gum and Miss Resell a Peter- 
son were united in marriage, and ar6 now the 
hai)py parents of two promising children, Mabel 
and Clarence E. A lovel}' little infaut, Florence, 
died at the as:e of five months in the spring of 1892. 
Mrs. Gum is the daughter of Daniel Peterson, an old 
settler of the county, and was herself born within 
its boundaries. This attractive lady has a wide ac- 
quaintance and many friends. 

The Gum famiiy represents a long line of sturdy 
Whigs and Democrats, but E. K. Gum has departed 
from the paths of his ancestors and afliliates with 
the Ke[)ublicans. 



=^% 




APT. EDWIN T. SAMMONS, the genial 
and popular Postmaster of llillsboro. 111., 
and for many years a prominent builder 
and contractor of tlie township, was liorn in 
Montgomery County, N. Y., March 12, 1835. 
He was the youngest of a large family who 
were in moderate circumstances, and he was early 
taught the value of time and money. His fa- 
ther was by trade l)oth tanner and miller. He was a 
resolute, capable man, anxious to provide for his 
childi'cn and gave them the benelit of the public 
schools. 

John Sainmons was, like his son, a native of 
New York State, but the blood of Old England 
coursed through his veins, as his forefathers were 
born and bred in the t^neen's dominions. The 



mother of our subject was also of English descent, 
as her father, Benjamin Standring, was an English- 
man by birth. He was a thorough machinist, and es- 
pecially understood the manufacture of various 
machines for factory use, and built the first card- 
ing machine ever made in America. His borne 
was in Bridgeport, Mass., in which place his 
daughter Emma was born. 

Miss Emma was married to John Sammons in 
New Y'ork State. The young couple settled in 
Montgomery County, and were blessed with a 
large family of bright, healthy children. Six sons 
and five daughters came into the home and all 
grew up to adult age. Four brothers and three 
sisters are now left of the family group that once 
clustered around the fireside. The names of these 
children are: Benjamin, John C, Leonard, Edwin; 
Eliza, the widow of William Bedell; Mary F., the 
wife of John T. Maddux; and Catherine, widow 
of B. F. Hal lock. 

P^dwin T. was only a little fellow when his par- 
ents removed to Lewis County, N. Y. Here Ed- 
win attended school regularly through his boyhood. 
When about seventeen years of age he learned 
the trade of a carpenter, and having served a three 
years' apprenticeship determined to seek a more 
lucrative field of labor. June 14, 1851, was the 
date of his arrival in llillsboro. III., where he 
soon found ready employment as a contractor and 
builder. Our subject steadily prospered in his 
new home, and on August 6, 18.55, wedded Miss 
Elizabeth F. ISoone, a native of the town and a 
general favorite with a large circle of friends. 

Mr. and Mrs. Sammons have two livingchildren, 
Mar3' and Ida, while their only son, Frank, is de- 
ceased. From the early part of 1854, our subject 
devoted himself untiringly to business, which he 
was rapidly extending, when, in 1862, the Govern- 
ment made its most earnest appeals for more vol- 
unteers. National existence was doubly imper- 
illed, and our subject's patriotic heart echoed the 
nation's cry. He responded to his country 's call 
without further delay, and enlisted in Company 
1), One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Illinois In- 
fantry as a private. There were sad hearts in 
Hillsboro when this regiment marched away 
and was shortly after ordered to the front. Fa- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



361 



thers, brothers, sons and noighboi's from Mont- 
gomery and adjaoent eunnties had enlisted under 
its banner and many never returned. Mr. Sam- 
mons i)artieii)ated in many a gallant engagement 
and in eoiiimon with all the brave boys suffered 
[irivations, but he esi'a|ied the Hying bullets 
of the enemy, the capture and the prison-pen. 
Fearless by nature and prompt in action, he re- 
ceived well-deserved i)rom',ition, advancing stead- 
ily' from the ranks, and served as Orderly Sergeant, 
Second Lieutenant, afterward First Lieutenant, 
and liually.in hsdl, was pnunoted to the Caj)- 
taincy of Company J), and was mustered out in 
186.5 at the liead of the company. 

The war ended, Capt. Sammons returned to 
his home and resumed business. Our subject 
wears the insignia of the (xrand Army — the bronze 
liutton — many of which are seen all over the 
land, and his heart is as loyal and true as it 
was thirty years ago. Mr. Sammons is a Reiiubli- 
can and was apiminted lVislma>ter twx) _\ears ago. 
The duties of his office have been discharged in a 
most acceptable manner, and he numbers his 
friends b\- the score. 



SIMEON W. Hri5P.ARD,a i)rominent farmer 
and a man well known all over thecount\', 
is the subject (it the present sketch. He 
was Ijorn on his present farm August 7, 
LS12,and his father w.as Philij) Hubbard, who was a 
native of North Carolina, and his grandfather also, 
as far as known, was a native of the old North State. 
The fauiily were ciriginally from England, and the 
grandfallier died here. 

The father of our subject came here when the 
countrv was unsettled, in 1827, having made the 
journev bs' wagon. He entered land just west of 
this farm, and here built a log cabin, and lived in 
it with only a ground tloor. Later, he sold this 
place, and entered his present farm from the (iov- 
ernment, and upon this he built a hvg house. This 
was a rude dwelling, but it was comfortable with 



the hewed puncheon floor, and open fireplace with 
its mud and stick chimney. The Indians were nu- 
merous and wei'e often seen, and deer and wolves 
were abundant, and the latter could be heard at 
night, and very often killed the sheep of the 
settlers. 

Almost all of the trading was done in St. Louis, 
and very small was the sum received for the pro- 
duce. ]\Ir. Hubbard owned and mostly develojied 
two hundred and ninety acres of land, was a hard 
worker, and one who was always bu,>y. Later, he 
hauled the most of the goods to the (ireenville 
stores, and he was the one who hauled the stone 
for the old Methodist Church from St. Louis. He 
died at the age of sixty-live years, liis death 
occurring .hmuary 14, 18()2. He was a Democrat 
in his politics, and voted with that party. 

The mother of our subject was Emily Smith- 
wick, who was a native of North Carolina. She 
reared eight out of her eleven children: Eliza, now 
Mrs. Smith; .John i\I.: Eliz;ibeth, now INIrs. Gerry; 
John K.; Melvina, now Mrs. Etzler; Albert; Sim- 
eon; and Emily. The mother is still living in her 
eighty-ninth year. She endured all of the hard- 
ships of jiioneer life, and when younger spun all 
of the clothes worn by her fauiily. 

Our subject was reared here on the farm, and at- 
tended the Jiioneer log schoolhouse, with its slab 
benches with the pin legs, and obtained what edu- 
catitin he could in this [uimitive dwelling, as the 
terms were very short in those days. He remem- 
bers seeing deer and wolves in his boyhood, and has 
made the trip to St. Louis with grain many times. 
His father died when he was nineteen ye.ars of 
age, and the whole man.agement of the farm fell 
upon his young shoulders. l>'inally,he lioughl the 
rights of the other heirs, and became sole owner. 

The marriage of ^Ir. ilubbai'd took place Marcl' 
30, 18(il, tf) Margaret K. l''loyd. who was born in 
Mills Township, in this connly, and one child was 
bom to them, Ol lie, who is the wife of (Tcorge (irube. 
Mr. Hubbard h.-is two hundred and eleven acres of 
iuiproved land, and has carried on mixed farming 
and stdck-raising. He has bought and shipped 
stock for the past twenty-liv(^ years. IIisi)laces of 
shipment .are Chicago and Indianapolis. He is 
well known all over the county, and has been a 



362 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



witness of the most of the development that has 
taken place. Mrs. Hubbard is a member of the 
Methodist Church and an excellent lad^-. 

In politics, Mr. Hubliard is a Democrat, and was 
a cniididatc for Sheriff of Bond County in 1886, 
and, allhiiuiih llie county was four hundred votes 
Kcpublican, our subject was defeated by only one 
hundred and seven votes. He has served as School 
Trustee for three terms, and is a man well thought 
of in his neighborhood. His farm and imuse are 
in fine condition and show i)rosperity upon the 
face of them. 



/ ^^ 



■x 



<i\ jVILLIAM C. ORACEY, an inllucntial and 
\/\l/l prosperous agriculturist of Shoal Creek 
ij^^ Township, IJond County, 111., resides upon 
a highly-cultivated farm, so located that it com- 
mands a fine view uf tlie surrounding country and 
the adjoining town of Sorento. The liandsome 
residence, jilcasantlv located upon an eminence, is 
most attractive, and with its well-kept grounds 
and .acres rich in harvest, suggests the wise .and 
thrifty management of its energetic owner. On 
a farm in Bond County, a few miles west of Green- 
ville, our subject was born, February 11), 1835, 
tlie seventh of a family of ten children. 

The fatlier and mother were William and Isa- 
bella (Harris) (Jracey, the former born in 1788 in 
iSorth Carolina, but whose father was a native of 
Ireland,who had immigrated to America long before 
the Revolutionary War, in which he took a prom- 
inent part, serving with distinction in the struggle 
for independence and National liberty. The ma- 
ternal grandfather of our subject was a Scotch- 
man, and he too arrived in the New World before 
the troublous days of '7(1, and early became a 
law-abiding citizen of the I'nited States. William 
Gracey, the father of our subject, was tlie young- 
est of three brothers, .lolni and .bisepli being his 
elders. 

In 1823, .Jolin, who was an ambitious man, 



journeyed to Illinois, to see if the reports of the 
advantages which this State was said to offer 
settlers were true. He was pleased with the soil 
and climate, and the next year, 1823, the rem.ain- 
der of the family followed iiim here, the venera- 
ble grandfather accomi)anyiug them to their new 
home. .John settled in Madison County, where he 
resided until the day of his death. The other 
members of the family located in Bond County, 
near (ireenville, upon the homestead afterward 
the birthplace of William C. Grandfather Gracey 
passed peacefull}- away in 1825, and in 1839 
his son, the father of our subject, also died. His 
wife survived him until March, 1839, and Uncle 
Joseph, who w.as a vigorous man, lived to remove 
to Macoui>in County in 1802, and died there four 
3-ears later. 

The brothers and sisters who gathered together 
in the old homestead were Harvey Rush, the eld- 
est, who died when he was twenty-one 3'ears of 
age; Rachael D., now residing near Dall.as, Tex., 
married William McGahey, who died during 
tlie Civil War while at the front caring for his 
soldier son, who was sick m the hospital in which 
the father himself, struck down by sudden illness, 
breathed his last; Margaret, who married William 
Robinson, and died two years later, leaving one 
child; Mary, who married .lefferson McCormack, 
died after four years of wedded life, and left no 
issue; Marcus D. Laf.ayette, a ranchman, wealthy 
and energetic, who lives near Dallas, Tex.; Casjier 
(Trundy, also a resident of Dallas. Tex.; Emory, 
also an influential ranchman, located 111 the same 
vicinity; Isabella, the wife of William Senter. 
who died in Texas, leaving three children. The 
youngest sister was scalded to death, when only 
two years of age, by pulling down a [lot of lioiling 
coffee from the stove. The youngest brother was 
a Captain in the Ccmfederate army during the 
late war. 

After the death of his father, Mr. (iraccy went 
to Macoupin County to live, and in 1854 married 
jNIiss Sarah .1., daughter of James and IMargaret 
(McLean) McGahey, who settled in Illinois in 
1826, having removed liithor from their native 
State, North Carolina. .Mr. Gracey (inally returned 
to Bond County, with his wife, and is located 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



363 



on the valiuible liomestoafl wliere he and liis fam- 
ily nciw ivsidf. INIr. and Mrs. (4raecy have had 
live eliildivn: Edward 1'., a proininent iiuiiber 
mercliant of Surcntu; James R., a prosperous 
S'toelv-raiser. residing in Hall Ct)iuitv, Tex.; Ada 
A., the wife of Dr. X. H. Jackson, a well-known 
physician of Greenville; Dora, the widow of Her- 
man Siemens; and Delia Mary, a teacher in the 
public schools of Sorento, and a graduate of 
Alniira College, in (ireenville. 111. These sons 
and daughters of our subject all occupy honorable 
and intluential |)Ositions, and have the respect and 
confidence of the coirmunity in which they 
were raised and carefully trained to becume useful 
and u|)right citizens. 

William (iraeey, his ancestors and descendants, 
were and are stanch Democrats, and although not 
politicians, in the ordinary accej^tation <_if the 
term, are all interested in the conduct of public 
olHce, both National and local. .Mr. Gracey is a 
valued member of tlie Cumberland Presbyterian 
Church, and together with his family has mate- 
rially aided in extending the good work and influ- 
ence of the organization. 



^-t 



»'^^<c^^-=- 




'I ^ H. HENSEN. Although quite a young 

'' man, this gentleman already has consider- 
able weight in the community where he re- 
,j sides, a fact which is easily accounted for 
by his strong principles, his active interest in the 
welfare of all around him, and the pleasant man- 
ners which are the crowning charm of a fine 
nature. 

Mr. Henscn was b<n'n in Hamliurg, (Jermany, 
March 22, 1!^()0. He is the son of Fr(!(lerick and 
Hanuali Henseii, who came to the United States in 
18C8, and settled in Henry County, this State, 
where be received bis education. Aftei leaving 
school, our subject learned tiic trade of a butcher, 
and from thai occu])alion drifted into the poultry 
busine.ss, and from tliat has built up a large whole- 
bale and cold-storage business. Success has un- 



douljfcdly crowned this gentleman's efforts, as the 
receipts of last years business prove, the amount 
being l;?().5,000. He gives employment in the win- 
ter time to about two hundred men and boys, and 
the different branches of his large enterprise arc 
at Virden,Carlinville, CarroUton, Palmyra, Jcr.sey- 
ville, Raymond, Bunker Hill. Shi|)nian, Eitchlield 
and Roodhouse. 

Our suljject lias built u|i this extensive Imsiness 
within the last eight years, and commenced this 
enter|)rise with a capital of s!2"ilt. To sa\' that he 
has made a big success but faintly expresses the 
idea, for few men can see such encouraging re- 
svdts from the labor of a lifetime, let alone the 
work of eight years. Mr. Hcnsen finds time to 
engage in other enterprises as well as the business 
above referred to, and is a member of the JJtch- 
field Hotel Company. In social life, be is a member 
of the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Or- 
der of Odd Fellows. For many years he has been 
interested in the Litchfield Fire Department, and 
is now foreman of Hose Company No. \. 

On the 2.5tli of February, 1887, our subject be- 
came united in marriage with Maria C. Gable, of 
(lillespie, III., and their family now consists of 
two children, Blanche Irene and Warren Harold. 

In politics, Mr. Henscn has always been a Demo- 
crat, and takes great interest in the success of his 
party. At tiie same time, he extends to those who 
differ from him in political faith that toleration 
which he demands for himself. As a liusine.ss 
man, be has been successful tieyond the ordinary 
lot of man, and enjoys the reputation of being 
clear-headed. He is deliberate in his judgments, 
a good judge of men, and universally esteemed 
for his integrity and sociiU (|ualities. A marked 
characteristic is his faculty of .adapting himself to 
circumstances, and a rule of his life is to tiiake the 
best of everything. He is a man of even tem- 
[lerainent, and, while prosperity has never caused 
him to be elated overmuch, his nature is too sturdy 
to permit (jf his being cast down In misfortune 
and disappointments. In his business and pri- 
vate relati(,)ns, h<^ has sustained a manliness of 
character that has won for him univei'sal conli- 
dence and esteem. Notwithstanding his siU'cess 
while yet young, he has none of the pretense of a 



30)4 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



vain mail :iiid none of the hesitanc3^ of a weak 
one, hut mo\'es about liis business with tlic fullest 
t'0usciousn(!ss of his ability to manage and con- 
duct it in dutail. 



f " I \ f I f I _ 



M. WEBER is the popular uditcu' of the 
Nokomis Journal, a paper that is imblished 
in the interests of the Republican party and 
wields a wide-spread influence in the local 
politics of Montgomery Comity. This paper is up 
to the times, and its editorial department is well 
conducted, and is noted for tlie able manner in 
which the general topics of the day are handled. 
Mr. Weber was born in Walshville, Montgomery' 
County, 111., May 28, 186!), the eldest of three chil- 
dren born to A. .J. and Mary A. (Gunter) Weber, 
llie former of whom was also born in this county, 
to which section the grandfather, M. J. Weber, had 
come at a very early date. Young Weber grew up 
very mueii the same as did other farmers' boj'S, 
and received his initiatory training in the common 
schools, but he finished liisstudies at Irving. His 
father was for some years a machinist, but is now a 
co;itractor and builder in Litchfield. 

When quite a lad, our subject became enaiiiored 
of the printing business, and persuaded his father 
to buy him a small press, which he kept under 
liis bed, and at times when he was not occupied 
with his studies at school he was printing cards for 
liis schooltnates. Notwithstanding the fact that 
his mother considered this work a nuisance, he was 
iK)t to be foiled in his business enterprise, and, tak- 
ing his outfit, i)ress and all, under his arm, he 
started out to find another "otlice," and before 
night he had rented a room. In 1887, he estab- 
IIsIkm] liiiiiself as a job printer, and the business 
grew from the start. Two years later, lie estab- 
lished the Irving !/'wiP.s, a small sheet, which he 
edited until about the 1st of .laiiuary, 181)1, when 
he sold it, and the following April came to Xoko- 
inis and e.^tablislied the Nokomis Journal, a five- 
column (piarto, eight-itage sheet, which is uncoin- 
jiromisingly Ivcpubhcau. 



Mr. Weber is an able and somewhat aggressive 

writer, but his paper from the very start has grown 
in public favor, and has been a financial success. 
Ills whole soul is in his work, and if perseverance, 
intelligence and sound judgment can accomplish 
anything, Mr. Weber will doubtless become emi- 
nent in his calling. He is very popular in the so- 
cial circles of Nokomis, his genial and cordial man- 
ner and his intelligence and keen wit making him 
a favorite and winning him friends wherever he 
goes. 

In the year 1889, he married Jliss Delia L. Lipe, 
a daughter of Jacob L. Lipe, a minister of the 
Lutheran Church at Irving, a member of a family 
prominent in the history' of Montgomeiy County. 
Mr. and Mrs. Weber are the parents of three chil- 
dren: Chester Carl, Burnice Grace and an infant 
named Eva IMvrtle. 



OIIN KRAGER. There are so many German- 
American citizens filling responsible and 
honorable iiositions in every department in 
the Union, that future records which bear 
the marks of careful research and an ai)[)reciation 
of sociological results will trace in the national 
character the Teutonic element and find a cause for 
the national greatness. Honest, independent, (iru- 
dent and thorough, they infuse the best spirit into 
whatever business they may enter. Our subject is 
one of this nationality and his influence 's colored 
In' the usual characteristics. 

Blr. Krager. who is a prosperous (ierinan-Aineri- 
can farmer and stock-raiser of Harvel Township, 
Montgomery County, is a native of Prussia. He 
was born .luly 3, 1846. liis)iarents being Christian 
and Elizabeth Krager, both of whom were natives 
of tiermany. As a boy he received the training 
which is compulsory in his native land, and at the 
age of twenty immigiated to the I'nited States, 
comiiii'' hither on a steamer from liremen. After 
a voyage of twelve days, he landed in New York 



rOETRATT AND BIOGEArillCAL RFX'ORD. 



367 



City and proceeded al once to Macoupin County. 
111. He was engaged as a faim hand for .several 
years and was fortunate in tliat he received, on the 
average, aliout ■'5i20 per month in the busy season. 
Out of this small sum he managed to .save enough 
to rent a farm for himself in .Montgomery County. 
Later he went to Christian County, HI., where he 
conducted a farm as a renter for several years. In 
ISMl he came to Montgomery Courity and settled 
on the farm where he now lives, lie is the owner 
of three hundred and twenty acres of excellently 
cultivated land. 

Our subject was married .June 2.5, 1H74, hi.s bride 
being Miss Paulina liaker, wlio was born in Chris- 
tian C(.)unty. She is ;i daughter of Richard and 
Ann Haker, of the same county. From this union 
four eliildrcn were horn; they are? .loseph R., 
.lohn C., Klizahetli A. and Frank. Mr. Krager has 
served one term as a ScIk)o1 Director, having been 
elected to the (lositlon as one of the strong mem- 
bers of the Democratic constitueiu'y in this locality. 
While devoting himself lirst of all to the improve- 
ment and cultivation of iiis farm and the proper 
rearing of his family, our subject is a pulilic-^pirited 
and progressive citizen. In church relatit>ns he and 
his family are Roman Catholics and are as devoted 
as the people of this church usually arc. 



l^-f^l 



(^_ 



"^''OIIN H. GORDON, .^I. I). In tiie town of 
Pocahontas resides one of the best-known 
physicians in the county of liond. lie has 
reached the age of lifty years and now occu- 
pies a position in the medical world which is most 
desiralile and gratifying, as his ()pinion is consid- 
ered convincing by his medical l)retliien, and his 
skill is recognized by patients throughout the 
Slate. This position has not been gained without 
effort, for Dr. (iordon has been a close student for 
many years, in order to cpialify himself for any 
ca.<c that may come to iuni. 

The subject of this notice was born at- lliints- 
ville, Ala., October 2'J, 1842. His father, Dr. James 

17 



Gordon, now of Greenville, this State, was born 
in North Carolina, in ISIH. Hugh Gordon, the 
grandfather, was also a native of North Carolina, 
and descended from a Scotch father who was one 
of the first settlers in the old North Stale. 
( irandfathcr (JoimIou carried on the trade of ma- 
chinist, was a man of much natural ability, and 
the constructor of the first cotton gins in the 
Stale of North Car<ilina. He employed several 
men and carried on an extensive luisiness for that 
time. In 1818 he removed to Elizabethtown, Ark., 
where he conducted a similar business, and died at 
the age of sixty-four years. A strong Wing, he 
i was well known in the various localities in which 
he lived, and his inlluence was exerted in belialf 
of measures for the public good. His religious 
connection was with the Methodist Church. 

The father of our subject was reared in North 
Carolina and early licgan the study of medicine, 
graduating from the medical college at Memphis. 
His practice extended throughout North Carolina, 
Alaliama, Arkansas and .Mississii)|n. He is now one 
of the oldest practitioners atf^reenville, this State. 
An honorary degree from the Mi.ssoiiri jMedical 
College, atSt. i>oiiis, was conferred u[)on him, on ac- 
count of his having so many sons in the profession, 
there being seven at that time. At the age of six 
months, our subject was taken from Alabama to 
Mississippi, where he resided with his parents until 
he was six years c>ld, and then he removed with 
them to Russellville, Ark., where he grew to matur- 
ity. He attended school there until the age of 
fourteen years, wIkmi lie entered his father's oflice 
for the purpose of studying medicine, and read 
with Ins father until he was nineteen years old. 

After niniriage, our subject practiced three 
years with Dr. lirigham, a leading physician of Ar- 
kans.as. In August, 18() I, he moved here, and in 
October of that ye.ar he eiitere<l the St. Louis Med- 
ieval College, and in connection with his regular 
course took a special course (in female diseases. 
One year was spent there .-ind Iheii he returned 
here and practiced for a period covering ten years. 
Then, taking his brother. Dr. W. P. (Uirdon, into 
partnership with him. he returned to St. Louis and 
completed his course in the Missouri Medical Col- 
lege, from which he was gra<liiated in 1876. Since 



368 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



that time the practice of the Doctor has been a 
great succoss. both in medicine and surijery. He 
has a line assortment of the latest instruments for 
sui-gical work, to winch he has given much atten- 
tion, and lie is called in every inii)ortant case of 
this kind in the county. 

The niarriajie of Dr. Gordon took place Decem- 
ber 15, 1861, to Emily El va Torrence, who was 
born in North Carolina, December 11, 1844. The 
D(Klor and his accomplished wife were school- 
mates m Arkansas City, having met in a private 
academy which is now known as the Russellville 
College. Fourteen children have been born to 
this couple, only live of whom are now living. 
Dr. William K. is a practicing physician in 
Old Rijjley, this county; Charles C. is also a phy- 
sician, and assists his father in his practice; .James 
L., Kate E. and (jcorge ]). complete the circle of 
surviving children. Nancy J. died at the age of 
ten years. All the others died in infancy. 

Our subject has a fully-equipped and well-ar- 
ranged office of three rooms — general oflice, drug 
room and private consulting room. Every Wed- 
nesday IS devoted to the treatment of female troub- 
les, in which he is assisted l)y his wife, wlio isa well- 
read medical woman, and certainly is a true 
helprhate for her husband. CJreat success lias at- 
tended the Doctor's jjractice, and he has been par- 
ticularly happy in the treatment of female diseases. 
He has erected the most elegant frame residence in 
Pocahontas, which is also one of the finest in Bond 
County. It is two and one-half stories in height, 
with attic, and is 39x42 feet in dimensions. The 
arcliitectiual designs were jjrepared by Dr. Gordon 
himself, and the work was left in the hands of a su- 
pei'ior man, who has finished each suite (if rooms in 
differently carved wood. The furnishings are also 
i)f modern style, and the home is a model of ele- 
gance and good taste. 

Since he wjis fourteen years of age our subject 
has been a memlier of the Methodist Ciiurch; his 
wife is also a member of this church, and their con- 
nection has always been an ai-tivo one. In his 
politics, the Doctor is a Republican, and has had 
experiences different from many who belong to the 
ranks. While living in Russellville, Ark., during 
the late war, he was conscripted into the Confeder- 



ate army, although he was not in sympathy with 
the cause. On account of sickness he was dis- 
charged, but shortly after he was again forced into 
the service. He and another man of like sentiments 
were left to guard fifteen Northern prisoners who 
were sentenced to be shot. The guards turned the 
prisoners loose and all came North together, and it 
was in this way that our subject located here. 

Dr. (iordon is a member of Gordon Masonic 
Lodge, which was so named in honor of his father. 
He is also a member of the Gordon Camp of tlie 
IModern Woodmen and the Ancient Order of Uni- 
ted Workmen. The State, County and District 
Medical Associations claim him as a member, and 
he has been a delegate to the State society and has 
been Vice-president and Director of the county 
association. 



|4..i.4.4. 



'^^•^••{•^^il 



' 'i' *5" "5* *§* ■ 



GiUSTAV A. REESE, who is the able pro- 
- prietor and manager of the G. A. Reese 
J Bottling Works, is a native of the city of 
Litchfield, w'herc he established himself in business 
in September, 1891, for the purpose of manufac- 
turing soda water, ginger ale, seltzer and mineial 
waters. His factory is located near the Wabash 
Railroad depot, and he keeps constantly employed 
at least tliree men, while so greatly has his work 
increased of late that henceforth it will be neces- 
sary to have the assistance of not less than five 
men. He suiiplies all the trade in his own line 
that can lie reached liy the roads to which he is 
convenient. 

Mr. Reese w.asl)orn in this city July 4, 1868. He 
IS a son of Frederick and Cliristina (Guyer) Reese, 
the former being one of the oldest settlers here, 
and both of whom came from Germany. Freder- 
ick Reese was for man^' years engaged in the fur- 
niture business, and is well known throughout the 
city and c()Uiity. Our subject received his educa- 
tion in his native place, and after completing his 
course at school was engaged as fjcrk ill a grocery 
stoj-e. 



PORTRAIT AND BlOGRArillCAL RECORD. 



369 



Four years and a-half subsequent to the connec- 
tion just named, our suliject was proprietor of a 
eigar store, atter wiiieli lie l)uilt tlie factory men- 
tioned alx^ve. He lias in liis estalilisliment all tlie 
latest improvements that enter into hi?^ business, 
and is constantly adding' to it as his trade de- 
mands. Although hih work in this direction is of 
recent date, he has already built up a fine trade. 

In addition to his business interests, our sidjject 
is the owner of considerable real estate in Litch- 
field. As a young man, his advancement in life 
has been very rapid, and promises well for the 
future. lie is a member of the Dreibund. Jlr. 
Reese is one of a family of six children born to his 
parents: Anna; Minnie, who is the wife of George 
Sehutt; August, William and Herman, besides the 
original of this sketch. 



II jV()15KRT B. HAGOOD, a retired farmer of 
Hillsboro, h.as long been among the lead- 
ing agriculturists of Monlgomei\y County. 
He is a Kentuckian liy birth, a native of 
Todd County, and was born February I;'), 1825. 
His father, l>nckner IIagood,.Tr., wasl)orn in South 
Carolina, .ind Ins grandfather, Buckner Ilagood, 
Sr., was supposed to be a native of the Pine Tree 
State. Rosanna Ilagood, our subject's grand- 
mother, was of Irish birth and came to America 
when thirteen years of age. The mother of our sub- 
ject bore the maiden name of Pollen Padeu, and was 
born in South Carolina in 178H. Her father, 
.John Paden, was also a native of South Carolina, 
and sojourned during almost his entire life in his 
early iionie. 

The i>areiits of our subject were united in mar- 
riage in Todd County, Ky., and there settled on a 
farm. 15uckuer Ilagood died in 1837 or l,s;i,s, and 
was buried from the old homestead to which he 
had brought his bride so many years before. He 
and his wife became the parents of four childrcui, 
but two died in infancy. John was a babe of eigh- 



teen months when he died; Thoin.as jiassed away 
when about one year old. James S. died in 187(>, 
leaving our subject the sole representative of ;ui 
honest family and honored name. 

When, in 1838, the widowed mother removed 
with her two sons to Montgomery County, Jll., 
Robert was thirteen > ears old and a manly, earnest 
l.ioy. He received instruction in the schools of 
his new home, and did such work as he found to 
do. He remained with his mother until her 
death, and then he and his brother stayed for 
some time in the lonely house. This provi^l 
a very unsatisfactory method of hoiisekce|.)- 
ing, and in December, 1872, Robert B. and 
Miss Esther Hughes were united in marriage. 
Mrs. Ilagood is a pleasing lad^' of lovely character 
and was born in Ross County, ( )hio, March 23, 1 831). 
Her parents gave her the advantages obtainable in 
their neighborhood and she was well fitted to make 
the home of her husband a ha|)py one. Mr. and 
Mrs. Hagood became the parents <if one son, James 
B. A brave manly boy, full of life and strength, 
the idol of the home, he gave his life for another 
and perished while trying to save a drowning 
com[ianion. The shadow of this bereavement 
rested heavily upon the home, which had been 
i^laddened by his merry [ircsence. 

The management of the farm, its general agri- 
culture and stock-raising, kept our subject busily 
eniplo\'eil for many years. Financially prosperous, 
he had well earned a rest, and in 181M.1 he retired 
from active work and removed to Hillsboro. The 
farming [iroperties which Mr. Ilagood has accumu- 
lated are located in various townships of Mont- 
gomery County. He has two finely-improved 
farms in East Fork Township, eighty and seventy- 
eight .acres, respectively; two in Witt Townsliip, 
of forty and eighty acres, and ninety acres of very 
choice land in Irving Township. Tlies(^ farms 
are all situated in an unusually excellent agricul- 
tural district and form a valual)le possession. 

.Mr. and .Mrs. Ilagood enjoy most i)leasant 
church and social relations. They are members of 
the Presbyterian Church, in wiiich our subject has 
lonu' been one of the Deacons. Mr. Ilagood is in- 
dependent, in politics, the man and not the party 
determining his vote. He is, however, uu unre- 



370 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lenting Prohibitionist. Deacon Hagood, as he 
is familiarity known among his friends and neigh- 
bors, is singularl.y free from the debasing habits 
wliich enslave so many of iiis fellow-men. He has 
never used liquor nor smoked*nor chewed to- 
bacco, tlie use of which weed he considers morally 
and physically injurious. 



M/AME8 Y.DAVIS. The following bio- 
graphical sketch is a memorial offered as a 
loving tribute by the widow who was for 
many years tlie loving companion and help- 
mate of .lames Y. Davis, and is intended to pre- 
serve a few facts for his children and. friends that 
may be of interest in years to come. Mr. Davis 
died April 5, 1884. That he w.as a good and use- 
ful citizen whose life had not been spent in vain 
was attested by the fact that he was generally 
mourned by those who were comparative stran- 
gers to his personal life, as well as by the members 
of his family. 

Mr. Daris was born at Bethel, or on the site of 
what is now Reno, Bond County, this State, No- 
vember 14, 1842. He was a son of Ira B. and Eda 
(Harned) Davis, both natives of Tennessee, who 
settled in Bond County in early years. After some 
severe trials in pioneer work, the father died in 
July, 1877. The widow married A. Dixon, her 
decease occurring in Se|)tember, 1891. 

Onr suliject enlisted in the service of his country 
.hine 11, 18()1, joining Company D,of the Twenty- 
second Illinois Infantry. He served for more than 
three years and was finally nuistered ont .luly 7, 
1864. He participated in many of the desperate 
struggles that made onr Civil War a notable 
e|)och ill the world's history, lieing a iiarticipant 
In the battles of I'.elmont. Island No. 10, 1'ittsburg 
Landing, Farmington, Corinth, Nashville, Stone 
Hiver, Cliickamanga and Mission Uidge. Although 
he was wounded three times, he was never off duty, 
carrying his bit of I'ebel lead in his body to the 



grave, it being a badge of honor of which he was 
justly proud. 

May 29, 1865, Mr. Davis married Helen M. 
Harned. She was a native of Hancock County, 
III., and a daughter of AVilliam S. and Sarah H. 
(McKaig) Harned, her mother being a native of 
Dayton, Ohio, and her father of Texas. Mr. and 
Mrs. Davis were the parents of five children, whose 
names are Eda, Ida, James Benson, Sadie II. and 
Clyde. The eldest daughter is the wife of John 
McClennj', of Reno; Ida married Charles Lehman 
and lives in Jefferson County, Kan.; James is sin- 
gle and makes his home with his mother on the 
farm. The two youngest children are still pursu- 
ing their studies. Mrs. Davis has a delightful 
home on the farm improved and cultivated by her 
husband, with the able assistance of her sons, and 
she has coiitiiuied the management in such a way 
that it shows not the slightest deterioration. 




BRAM BOURQUIN, though still compar- 
atively a young man, has become well- 
(4) known in agricultural circles, and is rec- 
^^ ognized as a careful, energetic farmer, 

who, by his advanced ideas and |>rogiessive hab- 
its, has done much to improve the farming inter- 
ests of this section. He is not only prominent as 
a tiller of the soil, but as a citizen and neighbor is 
held in the highest esteem. He has one of the 
linest and best improved farms of Montgomery 
County and Is one of its wealthiest and most in- 
tUiential men. He is a native of the Buckeye 
State, and w.as born in Tuscarawas County, Octo- 
ber 1;"), 1854, being the youngest of three children 
born to A. L. and Jlaiy A. (Beicheiiot ) Bour- 
qiiin. 

The father was born in Switzerland, near the 
French frontier, August 20, 1809, and continued 
to reside there until 1837, when the advantages to 
be derived from a residence in America induced 
him to emigrate to the United States. He crossed 
the ocean and located in Ohio, where he soou 




RES, or MS5.HLLEN M . D AViS , 5EC. iO.,5H0AL CRCCK TP BOND CO,, ILL. 



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RES. OF ABRAM BOURQU 1 N , SEC . 58. NO KOM IS TP. MONTGCM ERY C0.,1LL. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



373 



Miiiasiserl a foitiuie. His wife, whose maiden name 
was Mary A. Bciciienot. was a native of France, 
but cnine to tliis eovintry early in life. Siie died 
in 1857, when onr subject was about tiiree years 
of ai;c. Ml-. Bourquin [lassed away on tiie farm 
ill Ohio wliere lie liad tirst settled, April 21, l.s7;). 
lie was a worthy and mueh-esteemed citizen. By 
industry and close attention to his chosen occupa- 
tion he had gathered around him many (if the 
comforts of life, and at the time of his death loft 
a competency. 

The suliject of this sketch, being the son (if 
wealthy [larents, received every .-idvantage for a 
good education, and can read, write and s[iealv the 
French and English languages with e(iual tlueucy. 
When twenty-one 3'ears of age he was ainliitious 
to start out to " hoe his own row " in life, and 
had no d(^sire to fall back on his wealthy parents 
for a start. lie came to the Prairie State, and for 
a time was engaged in a sewer-|iipe manutactory. 
Later, he went to wtirk on a farm, but when his 
father died, in 1.S7'.), he came into [lossession (if one- 
third of the estate, which gave him a goodly for- 
tune. Soon after this he liought his line farm of 
four hundred acres, near iS'okomis, began improv- 
ing and devehiping it, and now has one of the 
best estates in Montgomery County. He liuill his 
elegant residence, one of the best in the county, 
in ]8.S«, and everything about the place indicates 
the (iwner to be a man vf energy and ambition. It 
must not he inferred that Mr. B(iur(iuin, having 
inherited a fortune, is engaged in spending it, for 
this is far fn.im the truth. He is one of the most 
pushing and ambitious farmers of the county, and 
has steadily increased his fortune from the start. 

Edward, the brother of (lur subject, is a promi- 
nent merchant of Indeiiendence, Kan., and his 
sister Adellie is the wife of Uenjaniin .1. Rickets, 
of Colorado. In l.S!S2, 'Sly. BiuuMpiin made an ex- 
tended European tour, visiting England, Scot- 
land, France, liwitzeiiand, (iermany, Italy, and 
other countries. A\'hile tr:i\'cling thrdugh Switz- 
eiland he was iin)iressed with the beauty of the 
Swiss cattle, and after returning to this country 
purchased a small herd. He has made a great suc- 
cess ill breeding them, and two of his thorough- 
bred cows, at the blooded stock show in Chicago, 




took the premium for making a greater amount of 
butter in one and thiee days than any cows in 
this country, that is, in a luiblic test. As his is 
one of tin' few herds of this stock in the country, 
Mr. Bourijuin is very proud of it. 

(»ui- subjec't is a strong adv'ocate of the jirinci- 
ples of tli(> Repnlilican party, as was his father, 
but he has too much to do on his extensive farm to 
gi\'e much (if his attentinn to pdlitical matters. 
He w.as married in IHSC to ^liss Augusta Cagnet, 
a native (if Wayne Count-y, (_)hio, but of French 
ancestry. One child has blessed this uiiidii, a 
liright little girl, .lessie, wlm is now abdut live 
\eais of age. 






,ELOS VAN DEIJSEN, Cashier of the 
jj) Beach, Davis & Co. Bank, is one of the 
prominent men of the little city of Litch- 
field, 111. He holds the pdsitidii (if Presi- 
dent of the School Board, and is in every w.ay a 
gentleman whose; sketch it gives us (ileasure to 
place in this Kkciiuh. Mi'. \'an Deuseii was born 
in Allegany County, N. Y., December '.t, lH2.'i, 
and was the son of .Tosliua B. and Lucia ((irds- 
venor) \;\\\ Deuseii, who were of Dutch and iMiglish 
descent respectively, and whose ancestors were, 
perhaps, some of the worthy burghers who assisted 
bluff old Peter Stuyvesant to establish the Dutch 
race in New York. The mother of our subject was 
a memlier of one of the best-known families in the 
Em [lire State. 

When our subject was three years old, the fam- 
ily moved t(i .lamestdwn, N. Y., and there he was 
reare(l and educati'(l and there he suffered the loss 
of his kind father. In IMIG, he went to Daytdii, 
Ohio, and at that place began the boot, shoe 
and leather business, and this prdved so remun- 
erative' that he coutinueil at it until IS.')7. In 
this city of Ohio, he married Miss Henrietta M. 
Snyder, February I'J, IS.")2, daughter of Charles 
and Elizabi^th Snyder, of Dayton, Ohio, and in 
11S57 he took a trip of observation through the 



374 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORB. 



State of Illinois, and flecif1e<l to become a resident 
here. This was a very small place at that time, 
1858, but he saw its possibilities. He was verj' 
loyal, and when the call for troops for the late war 
was heard in the country, our subject decided that 
it was his duty to go. 

Mr. Van Deusen became a member of the Sixth 
Missouri Infantry, and he raised a company of 
soldiers, aiid was made Captain. The enlistment 
took place at the Arsenal at St. Louis in June, 
1861. The regiment was sent south and was kept 
at Pilot Knob until the fall and was then ordered 
to Tipton, Mo., where Fremont was commanding. 
It was then sent to Springfield, Mo., in November, 
1801, and then returned to guard the Pacific Rail- 
road until spring. They were then ordered to 
Pittsburg Landing, in April, 1862, and there put 
with Gen. Sherman's division, and were actively 
engaged with him during the whole time of the 
war. 

Our soldier was no carpel knight. He partici- 
pated in some of the hardest fought battles of the 
war, was at the siege and cajiture of Yicksburg 
and the battles around Chattanooga and Mission- 
ary Kidge, and was in all of those weary marches 
around Knoxville to relieve linrnside, Wright and 
Clay. He was at the siege of Atlanta and in the 
fighting through Georgia and then at Petersburg 
and Alexandria. After the surrender at Raleigh 
of Johnson he went to Washington, where the 
great review took place which celebrated the 
return of peace. He was mustered out of the ser- 
vice at St. Louis, in September, 1865, and was then 
entitled to be addressed as Colonel. His promo- 
tion to the office of Lieutenant-Colonel took place 
in 1864, and he was in that position in all the 
campaigns of that year and was made Colonel by 
Gov. Fletcher at the close of the war. His service 
covered more tlian four 3ears and he came out of 
tlie struggle without a scratcii, although his clothes 
had been shot through several times. 

After his return to the i)eaceful walks of life, 
our suljject was made City Magistrate for a period 
of four years. In 1871, he entered the bank of 
I5each, Davis Sc Co., as Cashiei', which position he 
still holds. He is the senior cashier of all others in 
the city, and is a member of the firm. When the 



Litchfield Car & 'Machine Company was formed 
he became a stockholder and Director, as he was one 
of the organizers. As Director of the Oil City 
Building and Saving Association, with a capital 
stock of §1,000,000, he has given satisfaction and 
has been President of it, and also a Director in the 
Litciificld Homestead and Loan Association, of 
which he has also been President and w.as one of 
its organizers. 

With the growtli of the city and increasing land 
values and advancing rentals, Mr. Van Deusen 
saw that a safe investment would be real estate, 
and besides his beautiful home on North Street he 
owns other property, and is interested with M. M. 
Martin in the ice houses and reservoir west of 
town. This property is valued at §30,000, and the 
business is a wholesale one, St. Louis being the 
nearest market. The ca|)acity of the ice houses 
is eight thousand tons. 

Our subject is one of the public-spirited men 
who do a town good. It was through his influence, 
among other.*, that the railroads have come into 
the place. The individual responsibility of the 
bank in which Mr. \'an Deusen is interested is 
§300,000. He has served on the School Board at 
different times and also was City Treasurer for 
twelve years, and was instrumental in getting 
many of the schoolhouses built. He belongs to 
the Grand Army of the Republic of Jjitchlield, in 
which he is most highly regarded, and he is a man 
of whom his city may be proud. 



•i-^^-^1- 



•^^•^= 



\|/ AMES S. McDAVID. Among the most suc- 
cessful and thorough-going business men of 
Coffeen, 111., is James S. McDavid, wiio was 
' born in what is now Bond County, Novem- 
ber 1 1, 1842, and is the only son of William C. and 
Martha L. (Hunter) McDavid, both natives of the 
Sucker State, the father born in Montgomery 
County, March 1, 1820, and the mother in Bond 
County. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Our subject's paternal granrlfatlier, William Mc- 
David, was a native of Virginia, who was horn 
in St'ott Conntv. and remained there until aliout 
fifteen years of age, when he went with his brother, 
James MeDavid, to ISIissouri. Later he enlisted in 
tlie AVar of \S\2 and |)artici|)ated in the battle of 
New Orleans. In June, 1820, he came to Mont- 
gomery County, and located in Eiist Folk Town- 
ship, where he entered land from the Government, 
paying P2 per acre for it, in installments. lie and 
liis wife came on horseback and brought all tlieir 
worldly goods witli them. 'I'ney erected a log 
cabin, 14x14 feet, and with very little furniture be- 
gan tlieir career as pioneer settlers. On this farm 
he resided just forty-six years to a day, dying on 
the 1 Ith of February, 18'i{),when seventy-live yeais 
of age. His father, Patrick McDavid, was l)orn in 
Scotland and came to America when a young man, 
locating in A'irginla. His wife was born in Ireland. 
AViiliam McDavid married Elizabeth Johnson, a 
native of Tennessee where she was reared; she 
lived to be eiglity-tliree years of age. Her father, 
Jesse Johnson, it is supposed was a native of Ten- 
nessee. 

The grand|iarents of our subject were married 
in Franklin County, Tenn., by S([uire Hanlen in 
IK IK, and directly afterward came to ^U)ntgomerv 
County, locating tm section 34, townsliip 8. They 
were the parents of nine children, live s(jns and 
four daughters, all natives of Montgomery County 
and East Fork Township, and all of whom grew to 
mature years with the exception of one, the 
youngest, who died when about seven years of 
age. Only four sons are now living in this county. 
William C. McDavid passed his youthful days in 
his native place, and, .as he was obliged to walk 
four miles to attend school, his scholastic training 
did not amount to much, for he seldom attended 
more than three months in a year. Aftei- leaving 
the district school, he linished in a log schoolhouse 
in Hillsboro, and remained with his parents until 
twenty-one years of age. He was lir.st married 
March 11, 1841, to Miss Martha L. Hunter.a native 
of Bond County, and one son was born of this 
marriage, .lames S., the subject of this sketch. 
Following his marriage, Mr. McDavid located on 
section 34, on a fortv-acre farm, and as there had 



been no improvements made he went to work to 
clear and develoj) his ))lace. He erected a small 
log house and gradually gathered around him 
many of the comforts and conveniences of life. 
He owned atone time four hundred acres but gave 
his son one hundred acres, his daughter eighty-live 
acres, and has retained two hundred acres for him- 
self. When starting out for hiins(df, 'he owned 
two horses, a cow and calf and forty acres of land. 
Afti'r the death of his first wife, lie married Miss 
Lydia C. Wilson, September 2, 185(), and five chil- 
dren blessed this union, two daughters and three 
sons: Sylvester, deceased; L. J., of Hillsboro; Emily 
E., wife of D. C. Nislcr, of East Fork Township; 
Dr. .lohn Logan; and Nancy L., deceased. In his 
l)olitical atfiliations, Mr. McDavid is a Democrat 
and has held a nuinber of local positions. He was 
Consfaljle for four years and .lustice of the Peace 
forty years. For fifty years, he has been an Elder 
in the Cumberland Presliyterian C'liurch and isoiie 
of the pioneers and much-respected and lioiuired 
citizens of the county, lie was a member of the 
Jlasonic fraternity. 

.lames S. JIcDavid was born in what is now 
P>oiid County on the 1 1th of November, 1812. He 
assi>ted his father on the farm until twenty-one 
years of age and received a fair education in the 
common schools. In 18(11, he l)egaii working by 
the iiHintli on a farm for his uncle, Janie.> B. Me- 
David, and I'ontiiuied with him until 1 8(;.'i, when 
he enlisted in Company K, Third Illinois Cavalry, 
which was stationed at East port. Miss. Aboutone 
month later, (ien. Let^s army surrendered and our 
subject's command was sent to Jlinnesota and Da- 
j kota to fight the Indians. There he remained a 
little over seven months, and on the ^TTlth of Sep- 
tember, 18()r), they were mustered out at Ft. Snell- 
ing, iNIinn., and discharged at Springfield, III., on 
the mth of October, XHC,;,. 

Kctnrning to Montgomery- County, our subject 
entered the school room as a teacher and folhjwed 
this very successfully for alioiit twenty-live \eai's, 
in the meantime attending Hillsboro Acadcinv. In 
18()1, he had attended the M(. Zion Seminaiy for 
one term, the summer |irior to his I'litering the 
, army. In September, I8',MI, he embarked in the 
j coal business and is now Secretary of the Cotfeeii 



376 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



& Copps Compan}', at Coflfeen, and also the Treas- 
urer of the eompau.y. Tliis company employs on 
an average about seventy-five men and is doing 
a rushing- business. 

On tiie 31st of August, 1870, Jlr. McDavid mar- 
ried jNIiss S. A. Mitchell, a native of J\Iissouri,born 
in Monroe County, and reared in Macon County, 
and to them liave been born four children, two 
daugliters and two sons. The eldest died in infancy; 
Martha C. died when seven years of age; L. S. and 
James M. Socially, Mr. McDavid is a member of 
the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association, ]\I«dern 
AVoodmen of America and Lodge No. 368, K. of P., 
of Coffeen. Our subject is a'Democratbut was a Re- 
publican until Grover Cleveland was nominated. 
He has been Township Cleric for East Fork Town- 
ship three terras. Supervisor three years, and Cliair- 
man of the Board the last year. He was Superin- 
tendent and President of the Village Board in 
1891, and is now Trustee or Alderman of tlie city. 
He was School Tre.isiirer in East Fork Townsliip 
for ten years. 



■-^i 



'^^<m= 



-- i- 



' T i p^ J. GROSS. In compiling an account of 
|U) the different business enterprises of the 
/I' — --^ county of Montgomery, we desire particu- 
larly to call attention to Mr. Gross, who is one of 
the successful hardware merchants of the thriving 
little town of Coffeen. Tlie thrift and energy dis- 
played in the management of his affau's are appar- 
ent when you enter his store, and his pleasant, 
genial manner and uprigiit, honorable conduct 
have won liim many friends and patrons. He is 
one among the prominent men wlio have largely 
contributed towaid building up tlie mercantile 
fame of tiie above-mentioned town, and whose es- 
tablishiiu-nt affords an apt illustratidii of tiie pro- 
gress and development of the iil.nce. 

Mr. Gross was born in Freeport, 111., .luiie 14, 
1859, and is a descendant of sturdy German stock, 
his fatlier, .losepii Gross, being a native of tliat 
country. When a young man, the elder Mr. Gross 



decided to cross the ocean to America, and after 
reaching this continent he located in Pittsburgh, 
Pa., wliere he subsequently met the lady who be- 
came his wife. Miss Sarali 51. Messenger, a native 
of tlie Kej-stone State. After marriage thej' 
located near Pittsburgh, on a farm, and there car- 
ried on agricultural pursuits in connection with 
the carpenter's trade, wliich Mr. Gross had learned 
in iiis native country. Later, he and his wife 
moved to Freeport, III., where they located on a 
farm, but sliortly afterward decided to moye to 
Tower Hill, 111., where they located one and a-half 
milessouthof the town,on a farm, but later sold that 
and are now living in Tower Hill. Tliey are retired 
from the active duties of life and are enjoying the 
comforts obtained by previous years of labor. Thir- 
teen children were given them, eleven of wliom 
grew to mature years, but only six are now living, 
four daughters and two sons. 

The original of this notice, wlio was tentli in 
order of birtli of the above-mentioned children, 
was but thirteen years of age when he started out 
to figlit life's battles for liimself. He was without 
means, but had a pair of willing liands and any 
amount of courage and determination. He learned 
the tinner's trade and then went to Tower Hill, 
111., where he worked for two years. Thinking to 
better his condition, he went to Pana, this State, 
remained there a year and a-half, and then re- 
turned to Tower Hill, wliere he remained for some 
time. Later, he settled at Litchfield, and f lom liere 
went to Sorento, 111., and then to Slielton, Neb., 
where he remained four years. In 1890, he came 
to Coffeen and lias since been engaged in business 
here. He has identified himself with the interests 
of Montgomery County, and has shown liim.self to 
be a public-spirited, enterprising and useful citi- 
zen. 

Mr. Gross selected his companion in life in the 
person of Miss Susan Farrington, a native of HiWs- 
bore. 111., and their marriage was solemnized in 
May, 1881. One son, Ro}', has been born to this 
union. In politics, Mr. Gross is an advocate of 
the principles of the Republican jiarty, and has 
lield a number of prominent positions in the city. 
He was elected Mayor of Coffeen in 1892, and is 
now discliarging tlie duties of that position in an 






#, 




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-<yiy\<^ 




PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



379 



jible and satisfactoiy manner. Socially, lie is a 
member of the Knights of Pytliias, the iNIodern 
Woodmen of America and the Independent Onler 
of Odd Fellows. Mr. (4ross is full of energy and 
ambition, has displayed nnnsnal judgment in the 
management of his affairs, and has all tlie ie<|uire- 
ments for a successful business career. 



■ ^w I ' y * I 



^#^ 



(X[ IVILLIAM KOKTKAMl', the ellicieiit man- 
\/\ll -igi''' of thelliilsboro Coal Company, spent 
V^^ almost his entire life among the coal lields 
of Illinois. Born in Madison County, July 25, 
1HI7, he was but eleven years old when he began 
work in the coal mines near Alton. Natural abil- 
ity and exjierience united have admirably fitted 
him for his present res[)onsible position in one of 
the leading industries of ]Moiitgomery County. 
Although he became a bread-winner when a mere 
child, he lost no cipp<irtunity to gain the educa- 
tion he coveted, and regularly attended the night 
seho()l. Working in the '.nines by day, studying 
and reciting in the e\ening, he passed ten years 
of his life, receiving upon tiie twenty-first an- 
niversaiy of his l)irth his well-merited promotion 
to mine " boss," a positiijn he continued to hold 
for years. 

In 1870, our subject, together with liis brothers, 
Carl and I^ouis, o|)ened a coal mine near Alton. 
They labored diligently in thi.s enterprise about 
three years, when they sold out to their grand- 
father, upon whose hind the mine was hjcated. D. 
Noonan, of North .\lton, desiring the sei vices of 
an expert miner, engaged INIr. Kortkamp, who 
sank four shafts and ably managed the new mines 
for about live years. At the e.\|)iration of this 
time he went to Nilwood and there became the 
partner of Mr. Noonan in a general store, which 
they ran prolitably for four .\ears. An excellent 
opportunity then offering itself for our subject to 
return to his favorite business, inining, he sold 
out to Mr. Noonan, although lie afterward, for a 
lime, carried on the business for his late part- 



ner. In Felirnaiy, 1888, he .accepted tlie charge 
of the Ilillsboro Coal Comjiany. Two years later 
he leased the productive mines, l)ut in a few 
months disposed of his lease to the present pro- 
]iiietors. These gi'ntlemen, recognizing Mr. Kort- 
kamp's excellent business (|ualilications, tendered 
him the position of manager <>( the mines, which 
have an output of two hundred and fifty tons per 
day, anil fuinish steady employment to ninety 
men. 

In 187(1, our snbjee-tniarried a St. Louis lady, 
]\Iiss Henrietta liitlci', and (he children have 
brought sunshine into their lioinc. Death has 
claimed one. the survivors being Ilattie, Lulu, 
William and I.orena. They are bright young 
l)eople, and favorites with all who know them. 

William Kortkam|) came of good sturdy stock. 
His ancestors had won their w.ay by patient indus- 
try. His father, Frederick Kortkain]), a native of 
Prussia, emigiated to this country when a young 
man. Drifting to llallimore, he was given work 
by .lames liuchanan, who employed him as '• boss" 
of teams on the turnpike road and canal. A 
longing to build up his fortunes more rapidl\- in- 
duced the ambitious emigrant to move farther 
^\'est. His next residence and first real home in 
this country was in Southein Illinois, alioiit two 
miles from Alton, in which city he married and 
settled on a farm he had purchased of Senator I)e 
Wolfe, a celebrated lawyer in that section of the 
country. 

Frederick Kortkamp eviilently preferred other 
W'ork lo agricultural pursuits, as he left the farm 
and removed to St. Louis, where he engaged in 
the wood and coal business. While yet in the 
prime of manhood, and but lifty years of age, he 
died. The iiKjlher of our subject bore the maiden 
name of Mary (ialues. She was liorn in Baden, 
Prussia, and being left an orphan at an early age, 
liad no ties to bind lier to the Fatherland, so 
crossed the ocean to try her fortunes in the New 
World. She was living at Senator DeWolfe's 
when she made the acquaintance of Mr. Kortkamp. 
She became the nuither of six ehildien. two of 
whom died in eaily childhood, and four are now 
living, all residents of Ilillsboro. 

Our subject is the eldest of the brothers, 



380 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIilCAL RECORD. 



Willinm, Carl, Louis and Frederick Kortkanip, 
who are widely known and highly respected 
throughout the county. Adolph Kortkamp, the 
paternal grandfather, was a hardy, vigorous man, 
and could, at ninety years of age, saddle a iiorse 
as quickly as a young man. He was a Prussian 
and served as bugler in the army of that coun- 
try. 




A.I. ROBERT McWILLIAMS. There is 
an inspiration in the history of a success- 
ful man, whose aims and ambitions have 
been high, both to the youth who is strug- 
gling with adversity, and to serene maturity, who 
looks back with complaceiic.y over the experience 
of years fought jierhaps with parallel ditHculties 
and |)aiallel successes. These iiistories have a tonic 
effect, that is wholesome to all ckasses and condi- 
tions. Our subject, Maj. Robert McWilliams, is 
one who, gifted only with a sturdy constitution 
and an indomitalile and persistent will, has made 
malleable the adverse circumstances of life and 
molded therefrom gracious success. 

Maj. McWilliams is a native of Dalton, Ohio, 
where he was born on the l'2th of March, 1830. 
When a mere lad he was thrown upon his own re- 
sources and became an apprentice, when in his 
sixteenth year, to a tailor in his native town. A 
3'ear, however, sufliced his ambition in this direc- 
tion and he ran away and started into business in 
the tailoring line for himself in Bloomfield, Ohio. 
His restive nature, however, could not long en- 
dure such continement, and he w,as beginning to 
keenl}' feel his lack of education. 

To feel his need of an education was with our 
subject to begin to lectify that wrong. By close 
IK-rsonal application he jMcpared himself for col- 
lege at Hayesville, Ohio, and by constant study lie 
soon attained a high place in the school. He then 
embarked as a teacher, and with liis earnings from 
tiiis source was enaljled to prosecute his studies in 
the law, to which he had given Ins allegiance. He 



entered the office of Messrs. James Mathews and 
William Stone, at Coshocton, Ohio. Here he 
studied summers and taugiit during the winters in 
order to defray his ex|)enses. 

After being admitted to the Bar at Akron, Ohio, 
our subject cast about for a place where his knowl- 
edge of Blackstone and legal acumen would be 
appreciated. He settled upon Sullivan, 111., and 
there remained lor eighteen months, probably de- 
veloping more patience than pr,actice during the 
time. Thence he removed to Shelbyville. Our 
subject's first iiartnership was formed with Mr. 
Anthony Thornton, of Shelbyville, during which 
time they enjoyed the most practice in the county. 
The future looked veiy promising to the young 
man. 

At this period in our subject "s history, thecoun- 
try was in the throes of internecine conflict, and 
the young man, with all the ardor of his nature, 
threw personal prospects to the wind, assumed the 
paraphernalia of a soldier and advanced to the 
front. On first closing his law otKce at Hillsboro, 
in the spring of 1862, Robert McWilliams set to 
work to influence enlistments, and in a short time 
w.as the happy instrument of organizing three com- 
panies of infantry, who rendezvoused at a place 
named in honor of our subject Camp JlcWilliams. 
On the organization of Company B, which after- 
ward formed part of the One Hundred and 
Seventeenth Illinois Infantry, commanded by Col. 
Risdon Moore, Mr. McAVilliams was elected Cap- 
tain of this company and proceeded with his regi- 
ment shortly after to Memphis, Tenn. There the 
regiment remained until .Taiuiary, 1864. It was 
subsequently sent to Meridian, Miss., and from 
that point was placed on transports for the pur- 
pose of accompanying Gen. Banks on his famous 
expedition up Red River. The object of this ex- 
pedition having been accomplished, the One Hun- 
dred and .Seventeenth was ordered to return to 
Memphis, and at this place our subject was com- 
missioned as Major of his regiment. 

During the service following the advancement 
of Capt. McWilliams to the position of Major, he 
was ordered to Tupelo and Oxford, Miss., thence 
to St. Louis, Mo., and from that i)lace to Tennes- 
see, where his regiment took part in the battle of 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



381 



Nashville. Frtun tlic latter point the regiiiient was 
ordered to Kastfjort, Miss. At tiie last-named 
place Maj. McWilliams tendered his resignation, 
wliieli was accepted, and Ik; returned to Moiitgoni- 
erv County, this State, where lie resumed his prac- 
tice. Elsewhere a more detailed account of the 
Major's inilitary experience has been given, and we 
will con.seqnentl y conline ourselves ni<.)re to his 
civil service. 

At the present time, Maj. iNIcAVilliains is alily as- 
sisted in his legal work by his son, who is an elli- 
ciciit partner, inheriting much of liis father's bril- 
liancy and legal acumen. The Major lias en- 
joyed association with many distinguished legal 
contenii)oraries. At different times he has been a 
co-partner with the following gentlomen, whose 
records arc well known throughout tlic State: 
James Sturgess. (ieorge A. Talley and .ludge Lewis 
Allen. Vvv a iiiimber of terms Maj. McWilliams 
has been City Attorney, and from 1878 until 1880 
served as Jlaster in Chancery, and was elected on 
the Republican ticket to the Legislature of the 
State of Illinois. 

The gentleman of whom we write has been in- 
terested in all the progressive movements that have 
effected the town of his residence. He was one of 
the original stockholders of the Litchfield Car 
Company, and also in the Litchfield (i.as and Coal- 
oil Company. Later, he became identified with the 
Coal and Electric Light and Power Company, and 
also in the Water Supi)ly Company. He is con- 
sidered one of the financial mainstaj's of the city, 
and for a long time has been a Director of the 
Beach, Davis & Co.'s Hank. ^Many of the more 
conspicuous improvements in tlie city in the build- 
ing line are directly tracealile to him. He has 
dealt largely in real estate, and while so interested 
was for several years a partner of 1). O. Seltlemire. 
Maj. McWilliams' name appears in connection 
with all prominent affairs of his cOunty. lie has 
been a very energetic member of the Litchfield 
Agricultural Society for some time. Socially, he 
is a Royal Arch member of the Masonic order, hi 
his religious views he has identified him>elf with 
the Presbyterian Church. 

Our subject has been ably seconded in all his 
private and public enterprises by the encour- 



agement of his wife, to whom he was united 
in matrimony on the 18th of October, 1865. She 
was a IMiss Jlary Allen, daughter of Benjamin 
Allen, Es(|., of Litchtield. The three children that 
have gracecl their home are named as follows: Ben, 
(Iraceand Paul. The first-named is. as above stated, 
a partner in his fathei-'s law office, while the 
younger son is a clerk in Litchfield. Ben Mc- 
Williams is at the present time serving as City 
Attorney, to which office he was appointed for the 
third term in April of 1892. (Ti-ace is an accom- 
plished musician and a talented young lady and 
resides with her parents. The young lawyer whose 
prospects are so bright is a native of Montgomery 
County, where he was born December 27, 18(j(5. 
He finished his education at the State rniversity 
at Champaign, wliither he went from the college 
at .lackson ville. After his university career he 
read law with his fatlu'r, and was then in theotlice 
of Leonard Swett, of Chicago, for a little over two 
years. While there he attended the Union Col- 
lege Law School, and in 1K8M captured the degree 
of LL. 15., when he located in this city and has 
since been connected with his father. He is now a 
member of the Litchfield Library lloard, having 
been appointed to this position by the City Coun- 
cil. The Major is a stalwart Hepublican, always 
found at his post in su|iporl of the |)rini-i|)les pro- 
mulgated by the party, which arealways embodied 
in their platform. 



3^C. 



f^ 



[^_ 



~® 




R( )F. L( »TT PENNINGTON. Among the 
J, ncwsiiaiier men of Montgomeiy County, 
III., who are planning so wisely to help 
_ forward the interests of their section in 

the future, we are ])leased to mention Prof. Lott 
Pennington. Thisgentleman is the proprietor and 
editor of tlie ^rcrcury. of Coffeen, which paper 
was established on the .30tli of .Inne, 1!S!)2, and he 
now has it in Hrst-chiss condition and good work- 
ing order. Integrity, intelligence and system are 
characteristics which will advance the interests of 



382 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArHlCAL RECORD. 



any man and will lend to the prosperitj' to which 
all aspire. Such are some of the traits of the gen- 
tleman mentioned above, who is now a resident of 
the thriving village of Coffeen. Prof. Pennington 
was originally from New Jersey, born in Somer- 
set County, July 22, 1842, and his father, James 
Pennington, was born in the same county and 
State. 

The father followed the occupation of a farmer 
and met with substantial results in this pursuit. 
He married Miss Elizabeth Richards, a native of 
AV.ales, who came when a small child to America and 
.settled in New Jersey. Eleven children were born 
to this union, four sons and seven daughters, all 
of whom grew to mature j'ears. Mr. Pennington 
was a descendant of Scotch ancestors, and inherited 
much of their thrift and enterprise, the same char- 
acteristics having descended to his son, the subject 
of this sketch, who was tenth in order of birth of 
the above-mentioned children, and the fourth son_ 
When but fifteen years of age, or in 1857, ^oung 
Pennington came to Jersey County, 111., but pre- 
vious to that be had received a good practical 
education in the schools of his native county. 
After reaching the Prairie State, he attended 
school at Bunker Hill and Rock River Seminary. 
After this, he started out as a school teacher and 
followed this occupation very successfully for 
twenty years, becoming quite noted as an educator. 
He held the position of Superintendent of Schools 
of Jersey County for nine years, and during that 
time did much to advance the educational inter- 
ests of the community. As a man of sterling 
integrity and an earnest, conscientious, progressive 
educator, he ranked high, and for manv ^ears was 
connected with the schools t>f Illinois. In 1888, 
he came to Montgomery County, 111 , and located 
at Raymond, where he remained until 1 891, when 
he came to Coffeen. On the 30th of .Tunc, 1892, 
he started his i)aper, which already has a good 
circulation. After locating here, Mr. Pennington 
was Principal of the schools of Coffeen for some 
time, and, as usual, met with the best of success. 

In December, 11SG3, he was married to Miss 
Rebecca A. Kue, a native of Jersey County, III., 
and six children have been born to this union, 
four sons and two daughters, as follows: George 



R., Herbert, Kate E., .Jesse J.. Frank and Edith 
Ray. Prof. Pennington is a Democrat in his po- 
litical views, and while a resident of Jersey 
County was one of the leaders of his party. He 
has shown his appreciation of secret organizations 
b}' becoming a member of the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. 
Prof. Pennington has a plain but forcible manner 
in appealing to public sentiment, which makes 
him one of the people as an integer, and which 
would elevate him politically if he possessed the 
cheek of the average office-seeker, but being built 
on a more modest plane, it works to his disadvan- 
tage in holding office, though probably leaving 
him free to follow the pursuits which are more to 
his taste. 







L. VEST, a iirominent farmer of Mulberry 
Grove Township, resides on section 35, 
Bond County, III. He was born in Alabama, 
September 9, 1825, and was the son of Rev. James 
Vest, a native of Tennessee, born in 1801, who was 
reared in that State but went to Ohio when a young 
man. He there married Plicebe Corwin, born in 
the year 1796, a native (jf that State, and a second 
cousin to Tom Corwin. Iler father was a soldier 
of the Revolutionary War. The Kev'. ]\Ir. Vest 
and wife removed to Dayton, Ohio, and then to 
the State of Alabama, and from there to Indiana, 
where they remained thirteen years. In 1839 tlie^' 
came to Bond County, 111. The father was a minis- 
ter of the Southern Illinois Conference of the Me- 
thodist Episcopal Cliiucli, and died in Mascoutah, 
St. Clair County, in 1856, and was buried at Leb- 
anon, III., in the Ministers' Cemetery. The mother 
of our subject, after her husband's death, lived 
quietly at Mulberry Grove, and died at the age of 
seventy-two years. Five sons and as many 
daughters had been born to them, and four sons 
and one daughter grew to maturity, but three of 
this family are all that now remain. 

Mr. Vest is the third child and son of the fani- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



383 



ily, and his first scliool experience was at Faii'- 
view, wliere iii:> father liart been induced to talce 
chaige of the school in a log house. Our .sul)iect".s 
education was finished at JNIcKendree College, at 
Lebanon, 111., and so thorough had been liis train- 
ing that at tlie age of twenty-two years lie was 
considered an excellent teacher. The career of an 
instructor lie continued for thirty years, although 
part of the lime he carried on farming during tlie 
sumiiier and leaching during llie winter. Septem- 
ber l.'i, 18411, was the date of his marriage to Miss 
Nancy, the daughter of Rev. .James B. Woolard, 
who was born in ]Maury County-, Tenii., February' '22, 
1828. The last-named peri-oii was born December 
17, 18(11, in North Carolina, and was reared in Ten- 
nessee, where he became a Methodist minister and 
joined the Southern Illinois Conference. He be- 
came one of the most prominent ministers in the 
country, w.as a good singer, aud this aided him 
greatly in carrying on his revivals. IMr. Wotilard 
came to (ireenville in 1821>, and located on the 
same [ilace where our subject now lives, and in 
1834 joined the Conference. 

Ill 18G2, Mr. Wocilard was made Chaplain 
of the One Hundred and Kleveutli Illinois In- 
fantry. He was well known in llie churcli, 
a hard worker, and a man that did a great 
deal of good. His life ended May .">, 1887, and he 
w.as buried at Mulberry Crove. Through his iii- 
tlueuce the Hist schoolhonse was erected in tin; 
eastern part of the county, and his grave is now 
located in the schoolhonse yard. During the 
lilack Hawk War he was a soldier, and at one time 
was a member of the Legislature. In [lolitics, be- 
fore the war he was a Democrat, but after the war 
just as strong a Rciniblican and a strong temper- 
ance man. The father of Mr. AVoolard was Wil- 
longhby Woolard, a native of Ncuth Carolina, 
who went into the Revolutionary army at the age 
of sixteen; and his father was .Tolin Woolard, also 
a native of North Carolina, of Welsh descent. 
]\Ls. \'cst's mother was Mary McCurley, .a native 
of Kentucky, l)orn March 21, 1805, and reared on 
a farm. She lived until 1K83. Her fatlier, the 
grandfather of iNL's. Vest, was Abraham McCurley, 
and her (irandfather P>rown was a soldier in the 
Revolutionary War, 31rs, \'est's father and 



mother were the parents of six children, all of 
whom lived and grew to maturity. They all had 
families,- and all of the granilchildren were born 
before there was a death in the family. Mrs. A'est 
was the eldest child of her family, and the only 
one who was not born in l>ond County, and on 
the farm here she now lives. She was two \"ears 
old when she came to Bond County, and her first 
attendance at scho(.>l was when she was five years 
old, at a little log schoolhiiuse. She linished her 
education at Ilillsboro j^-adi'iny and then at 
Biackburu Seminary, at Carliiiville, 111., in 1840. 

Mrs, X'est taught two terms of school, and then 
married ,Iesse 1'. Ilenninger, and liad one son,.Te.sse 
1'., who took |iail, in the late war. .Mr, and Mrs, 
\est are the parents of live children, viz,: Eu- 
gene W, was born Decemiier 17, 1 Si,')0, lie at- 
tended McKendree College at Lebanon, III., and 
also went to school in Creenville, and after that 
taught sehocil for several years, but now he is in the 
emjiloy of the Steel Range and Furnace C'onipany 
of St. Lfuiis.and is in the State of Washington, 
.\mericns 1), C. is the next child, and was born 
.Tuly 24, 1852. He completed his education at 
(ireenville, and is now engaged as engraver at 
Springfield, 111, Thomas A, was born December 8, 
l.srd, graduated at the High School of Greenville, 
and at the Law School in the Washington Univer- 
sity at St, Louis, and taught school here and in 
('aliforniM.. lie is now in San Francisco, Cal., 
liracticing law, Alice X. was born Aiiril 24, 
LSfifi. finished her education at (4reenville, III., 
and taught four years in the publir schools of 
that |)lace. She married E, V, liuchanan, and re- 
sides at AVax'erly, 111, Mary E, was born Feb- 
ruary 7. l.S(i3, graduated at Green ville, and taught 
school until she married .1. W. Brown, a prominent 
lawyer of Evans\-ille, and they reside in (Green- 
ville. Mr. Brown was foi-nierly S[ie<'ial Pension 
I'^xauiiner at Washington. 

After marriage, in ISli), <iur subject located in 
A'andalia, and engaged there as a clerk for one 
year. He then bought, a farm in .Mulberry (irove 
.and located on it for two ye.ars, but in I8,")4 
opened a store in the village, Mr, A'est has 
owned seven different farms in Bond and Fii>etle 
Counties. He lived eighteen years in Greenville, 



384 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



previous to coming wbere he now resides. In 
1889 lie bought the old homestead of Rev. .lames 
B. Woolard, and now has one of the prettiest 
places in Bond County. August 13. 1861, Mr. 
Vest enlisteci in C'omi)any C, Twenty-sixth In- 
fantry, under Col. Loomis, of Chicago. He was 
made Lieutenant of Company C, but on account 
of disability he resigned in 1862. For years Mr. 
A'est has been a Republican, but at present he 
votes with the Prohibitionists. While living in 
Greenville, he was an Alderman, and he served 
very creditably in that capacitj'. He has been 
a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
since he was sixteen years old, is a prominent 
worker in the Sunday-school, of which he has 
been Superintendent, and has been Class-leader 
and Steward of the church. Mrs. Vest also is a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to 
which she has belonged since her eighth year. 
Both Mr. and Mrs. Vest are excellent peojile, and 
enjoy the respect and esteem of all who know 
them. 




%ANIEL P. MURPHY, a prominent and 
prosperous agriculturist and the owner of 
a fine farm just out of the thriving town 
of Xokoinis, 111., was l)0rn in the Emerald 
Isle in 1837, and is characterized by the geniality 
and large-heartedness for wliicli his countrymen 
are known. His native count}' is Kerry, and 
there his home continued to be until he was thir- 
teen \ oars of age, during wliicli time his educa- 
tional advantages were somewhat limited. In 
1850, he immigrated to the United Stales with his 
parents, Daniel and .lohaniiali (Molarity) Murphy, 
and for a time thereafter they resided in New 
York State, then in Indiana, and linallv settled in 
Shelby County, Ohio, near Sidney, where the 
father purchased a small farm. .\s the family 
was far from rich, the earl\- advantages of Daniel 
P. Murphy wore far from being what was to be 
desired, but he realized the advantages to be de- 



rived from a good education and managed to ac- 
quire a fair knowledge of the rudimentary branches. 

At the age of twenty years, he entered the em- 
ploy of the Big Four Railroad, and for many 
years was section foreman at Bunker Hill and 
Litchfield, and later was stationed for ten years at 
Nokomis, where he was also foreman. He was 
very industrious and saving, and in 1877 he was 
enabled to purchase his first piece of land, which 
consisted of eighty acres and Is now a part of his 
fine homestead. This land was purchased for 115 
per acre, and in 1884 he purchased the balance of 
his land, onto which he moved, and has since been 
tilling it in a manner that has won the attention 
and admiration of all. He has the satisfaction of 
knowing that his farm is a valuable one, beauti- 
fully and desirably located, and his residence a 
handsiime and well-appointed one, which desirable 
state of things has been brought about by his own 
persistence and industr\'. 

In May. 1872, he was married to Miss Ellen 
Scholard, by whom he had a family of ten chil- 
dren, whose names are as follows: John Francis, 
Daniel Joseph, Thomas William, Charles Leo, 
Albert Matthew, James Stanislas, Mary Julietta, 
Rose Helena, Katie Alvina and Maggie Agnes, all 
of whom have received good educational advan- 
tages which they did not fail to improve. The 
parents of Mr. ^[urpliy became well and favorably 
known in the vicinity in which they located in 
Shelby County, Ohio, and there their last days 
were spent, the mother dying in 1887, and the 
father in 1890, at the extremely advanced age of 
ninety-eight years. Of four children that came to 
this country, all are still living. John being a ma- 
chinist at rarsons, Kan. Patrick and his sister 
Bridget reside on the old lionieslead in Shelby 
County, Ohio. 

Mr. Murphy cast his first vote for Abraham 
l.iiicdln, later became connected with the Demo- 
cratic l>arty, and is now a member of the Farmers' 
Mutual P.enefit Association, or Third jiarty, al- 
though he is l)y no means a partisan. lie has 
never sought public preferment, for he has found 
that his farm completely occupies his time and 
attention, and that Ui give his nltention to any 
oilier pursuit would be at its expense. He has 



PORTRAIT ANT) r.KXJRAPII'CAL RECORD. 



385 



every reason to be proud of the wny he has woikeil 
himself up from the f^>ot of the ladder, but is not 
in the least btwstful of the way he has coii(|uered 
Dame Fortune; on the other iiand, is railier modest 
and uiuibtrusive. Sueh a eareer is well wiirlhy (.>f 
emulation. 



=si3'! 



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vH 



11^^ 




IIARLES R. TRUITT, editor and proprie- 
tor of the llillsboro Journal, is a resulentof 
the thriving- and enterprising town of llills- 
boro, Montgomery County, III., and is one of the 
representative men of that eity. His paper, which 
is a neat, newsy jdurual, is admirably supported 
by the people, and under his able management 
it has eome to be regarded as one of the leading 
journals in this section of the eountry, lie has 
been an earnest advocate of all public enterprises 
calculated to benefit the county, and through the 
columns of his journal has wielded no slight influ- 
ence in directing the steps to be taken for any 
worthy movement. 

()ur subject was born in llillslioro Township, 
Montgomery County, 111., July 22, 1858, and is 
the youngest child born to Samuel and Cynthia 
(Carr) Truitt, both born in the year 1818, the 
father in Henry County, Ky., December 28, and 
the mother in Indiana, although reared in the 
Blue (Jrass State. (For further particulars of par- 
ents see sketch of Hon. J. M. Truitt). Our sub- 
ject's edvicational training was first received in the 
district schools of !iis native place, and later he 
supplemented this by a course in llillsboro Acad- 
emy. From there he went to East Hampton, Mass., 
and entered ^\'illiston Seminary, from which he 
was graduated in 1878. While a student in this 
institution he took the second prize in oratoiy. 
He then took a special course in Lafayette ('ollege, 
at Easton, Pa., in 18711 and 1880, and subsccpiently 
started out as an educator. He was assistant 
principal of llillsboro I'ublic School for two 
years, and then, having .acipiainted himself with 
the ])rinling liusiness, he started out in the news- 
paper business, in July, 1881, 



Mr. Truitt i.s a thorough master of his calling, 

and his (laper is published in the interests of the 
Republican jiarty and is regarded as one of the 
representative journals. ^Ir. Truitt h.as done so 
much in the past and is now planning so wisely to 
help forward the interests of the county in the 
future, that it is with great pleasure that we men- 
tion his name. He is at present the most ellicieiit 
and capable Treasurer of llillsboro Townshi|i, and 
has held that position for six years. In 1889, he 
was aiipoiuted I'nited States Deputy Collector of 
Internal Revenue for the Eighth District of Illi- 
nois, embracing the C(iuuties of Montgomery, 
liond, Shelby, Macoupin, .lersey, fireene and Cal- 
houn, and served for two years. 

The original of this notice has shown his ajipre- 
ciation of secret organizations by becoming a 
member of Montgomery Lodge No. to, I. O. ( ). F., 
of llillsboro; also Lodge No. 283, M. W. A. In 
()ctol)er, 1882, he was wedded to Miss Libljie 
Weber, a native of the Emiiire State, and the 
daughter of Nicholas and Ora A. (Dryer) AVeber. 
Three children have been liorn to this union, two 
daughters and a son, who are .as follows: Ora, 
Charles A. and lieulah. Mr. Truitt is a hale-fellow- 
well-met with the choice spirits of the time, and is 
a loyal citizen and a time and trusted friend. 



If^-^ ON. CII.VRLES A. RA.AISFY, President of 
J; the llillsboro National liank and jM.ayor of 
the city, is one (jf the re|)resenlative men 
of Montgomery County, 111. He came 
originally fri>m Pennsylvania, that State which 
has contributed so much of iioiuilation and intel- 
ligence to his adopted State. He was born in 
Mitllin Coiiuly .Ianuar\' S. ISI;'). and his father, 
William 11. Ramsey, was a native of the same 
t'ounty. 

The elder Mr. Rainspy was reared in his native 
county, and secured a fair education there. He 
was a contractor and builder in Milroy, where he 
resides at the present time. He married Miss 



386 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 



Mary Rarer, a native of Hamilton County, Pa., 
and to them were born eiglit children, five sons 
and three daughters. Mrs. Ramsey is now de- 
ceased. ()ur subject, who is the eldest child born 
to the estimable couple mentioned above, after re- 
ceiving such an education as the district schools 
afforded, entered the Pine Grove Academy-, of 
Pennsylvania, where he laid the foundation for 
his subsequent career. On the 8th of August, 
18(32, when the war cloud hung darkly over tlie 
nation, young Ramsey enlisted in Company D, 
One Hundred and Forty-eighth Pennsylvania In- 
fantry, as a private under Col. James A. Beaver, now 
ex-Governor of Pennsylvania. lie was promoted 
to be Sergeant-Major in 1864,duringtlie Wilderness 
Campaign, and later to Adjutant. At the close of 
the war, or in IBGo, he was mustered out at Ilar- 
risburg, after serving liis country faithfully, and 
participating in many of the most prominent en- 
gagements. 

Retiring to his home in the Keystone (State, he 
remained there for a short time only, as in 18(),5 
he came to Shelliy County, 111. To a youth of his 
energy and ambition, the better chances of the 
opening West became a tem|)tation that could not 
be resisted, and he determined to seek his fortune 
in theSucker .State, toward which the tide of immi- 
gration was rapidly settling. During the winter of 
1865 and 1866 he taught school, and in 1867ca7ne 
to Irving, Montgomery County, 111., where he en- 
gaged in the drug and hardware business. This 
he continued successfully until 1877, when he 
came to Hillsboro and embarked in the hardware 
l)usiness with .lohn R. Challacomber. In all 
Ills business enterprises Mr. Ramsey has met with 
fair success, and is a man of good business fore- 
sight and talent. He has been the efficient I'rcsi- 
dent of the Hillsboro National Bank since its 
organization in 1882, and holds the responsible 
position of jMayor of the city at the present time. 

In his political afliliations he is strongly Repub- 
lican, and in the fall of 181)2 was a candidate for 
Representative on that ticket. He is now .serving 
his second year as Mayor of Hillsboro. Twice he 
has served as Sujjervisor of Irving Township, and 
once of Hillsboro Township, and has been Cliair- 
man of the Board. He is prominent in all worthy 



enterprises, and has done much to develop and 
improve the city. He is a member of F. D. IIubl)le 
Post No. 403, G. A. R.,and is an officer in the same. 
A prominent Mason, he is a member of Mt. JMoriah 
Lodge No. 51, of Ilillsboro, and Hillsboro Chapter 
No. 197, R. A. M. 

October 27, 1870, our subject niari'ied JIi,ss 
Elizabeth Corley, who was born in Shelb}' County, 
a daughter of B. W. F. and Lois Corle3', natives 
of the same county, but both now deceased. Mr. 
and Mrs. Ramse^' have one bright daughter, Marj'. 



^^il-^i"i^ii^#i^ 



C. WELCH is a prominent resident of 
Ke3'es|)ort, Bond County, III., where he con- 



_ ducts a general store, and where he now 
holds the office of Justice of the Peace. The 
father of our subject was named Christopher 
Welch, and he died when our subject was only 
four years old. The name of the mother of our 
subject w.as Mar>- (McLaren) Welch, and her 
demise occurred one year after the death of her 
husband. 

Our subject was born in Crawford County, III., 
September 1, I8.')l, and after the death of his par- 
ents was kindly taken charge of by an uncle. At 
the age of thirteen years he left his uncle's care 
and started out for himself. His first arrange- 
ment was with a farmer, for whom he engaged to 
work on the farm for sixty dollars a year, with an 
opportunity to attend scho<il four months of that 
time. He remained at this (ilace for two years, 
and during his school days walked three and one- 
half miles to reach the school house. After this 
he hired out to work by the month, and made a 
hundred rails per week for his board, and worked 
liis own way from the age of eighteen until tvven- 
ty-one years of age. 

When our subject reached years of maturity, he 
and his brother Thomas engaged to work a farm 
on shares. December 17, 1872, Mr. Wek^li married 
Marlnda Iviger, a native of I'ond County. She 
was the capable daughter of Henry Kiger, who 




J- - •'.^"^ -. 




\m- 



'CHa/vO 



^A. 



^ n4AM4 



u 



cL, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



389 



rus) Matney. Only two of tlie family survive, 
William D. and a sister, Rutli C, now the wife of 
II. II. ;\Ieyerholz, of Rams-'ey, this State. 

()ur subjeot 's father was a native of Teniiessce, 
wliei'e he was horn in IHll. He was by oecupation 
a faiiner ami was a \'eteran of the Mexican War. 
He settled in Slielhy Covinty. 111., aliunt 1 .s;i5-;36, 
■iiid died there Se|itemlier .'!(t, LSI 7. Our subject's 
mother was born in Kentucky in jMareli, 1.S19, 
and was descended from an old A'irjiini.'in family. 
However, but little infornialidn is at hand relative 
to the early history of the antecedents of either 
of these families. We have Ijeun able to glean the 
simple fact that the lioswell family, which was the 
name of the great-grandmother of Leonard ]\Iat- 
iiey, was from the old l'>ay State, wlumce its mem- 
bers early emigrated to N'irginia. Jacob liurrus. the 
maternal grandfatlier of our subject, was born in 
Virginia and m early life went to Sini|)son County, 
Ky., where he liecame a (n'ominent citizen. Our 
subject's mother was liorn in Kentucky and is still 
living, at the age of seventy-three years, and 
makes her home with her daughter, Mrs. Meyei-- 
holz, of Ramsey. 

It is of the mail himself, however, that we wish 
to write and we will give a full account of his rise 
in the world from the son of a poor farmer in the 
early settlement of Illinois until tlu' [iresent time. 
The txjyhood days of young Jlatney were spent on 
a farm much as other farmer boys spend their time, 
tilling the ground in the siiiiimcraiid never having 
received over six months" schooling. We liiid him 
prosecuting his studies at the breaking out of the 
Civil 'War, when he ]nomplly tendered his services 
to his country. and December 10, 1801, we find him 
ill the ranks of Company K, of the Fifty-fourth 
Illinoi> Infantry, under Capt. T. C. Kodrig and 
Col. ll.'irris. l)eecnili(a- 2(), 18();!, he re-enlisted as 
a veteran and served until October IT), 1865, when 
he was discharged at Little Rock, Ark., with the 
title of Sergeant. Wo will not attemiit a history 
of his war career, snllice it to say that he was with 
his regiment from first to last, never lieing off 
duty, and he nev(>r received a scratch, although in 
day having been January 2(!, 1810, and he was the many of the hard-fought battles, among them the 
second child in the family. Four other children | siege of \'ick>burg anil the Steele camjiaign at Lit- 



was one of the early settlers of this county. After 
marriage, our subject located in Okaw Township, 
one mile north of where he now resides, and here 
engaged in farming and general stock-raising. In 
1884, he located in Tamalco, Bond County. 111., 
and engaged in the grain linsiness, Iniying and 
shi[)ping all kinds of grain, and also conducted a 
saloon for seven moiilli.^. In Xovember, 18.').'), he 
started a general store in the village and remained 
there until Decemlier 10, 18'.)1, when he located 
where he now resides and here carries on a profit- 
able business. 

Mr. and Mrs. Welch liecame the parents of eight 
children, of whom three are daughters and live 
are sons. Their names are as follows: iMollie B., 
Gifford N., \'irgil W., Arthur W., William F., 
Luln E., Galerd (i., and Jennie Alay, who died at 
the ag^ of two years. While living in Tamalco, 
Mr. Welch held the [losition of I'ostmaster for two 
yeais and nine moiilhs. In jiolitics, he is a Demo- 
crat and has held a number of the county otlices. 
For eight years he has been County Treasurer 
and Justice of the Peace, and lias also held the 
position of Constable. In 1892, he was elected 
Township Supervisor, which ollice he is still hold- 
ing. 

Mr. Welch is a man well known in the county, 
and one who has been very active in local [lolitical 
affairs. He has lieen very successful, entirely 
through his own efforts, and deserves the com- 
mcndaliiin of the c<immunil\' foi his industi-\-. 



■i-^±^=±_ 



•^^•^ss.^ 



<| I^ILLIAM D. MATXEY, M. I). The town 
\/\/// of Sorento has upon the list of its citi- 
'^\y zens able representatives of all the profes- 
sions. Our subject is the leading physician of the 
place. He was born on a farm near what is now 
the town of Ilerrick, in Shelby County, his natal 



were afterward born to Leonard and Mary (Hur- 
18 



tic Rock, 



390 



POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



After his return from the army, our subject took 
up the life of a fanner and was thus employed for 
two years, in llie meantime, however, he was 
iuisy prosecuting his medical studies, and in 1869 
he became interested in tlie drug business in Oco- 
nee. For the five years that he remained there he 
faithfully continued his medical studies, for that 
was his chosen profession. In August of 1875, he 
located at Ilarvel, Montgomeiw County, and after 
a successful examination [)assed before the State 
Board of Health he received a license and hung 
out his shingle. His experience as a prescription- 
ist and his protracted studies gave him more than 
an ordinary store of practical knowledge, and he 
met with marked success from the start. There he 
continued his practice until September, 1882, when 
he removed to Caldwell, Kan. But not prepos- 
sessed in favor of the West, he returned to his na- 
tive State and in October, 1883, located in the new 
town of Sorento and has since been an important 
factor in tlie building up of the place. 

Aside from our subject's professional interests, 
he has many other interests and is the patentee of 
a burglar alarm which he has, however, never 
pushed upon the market. The Doctor was first 
married in Shelby County, in 18()7, to Sarah E. 
r>owe, who was a native of .lohnsiin County, Ind., 
born January 28, 1840. She was the daughter of 
John and Rachel Lowe. Her decease occurred 
October 18, 187fi. From this union six children 
were born, all of whom died when young with one 
exception — Mary Ellen, who is now the wife of 
Samuel E. Cress, a |irominent hardware merchant of 
Sorento. The Doctor again married, September 30, 
1878, the lady of his choice being .'Miss DrucillaC. 
Scott, boin in I'ortsmonth, Ohio, April 23, 18,51, a 
daughter of .leremiah and Sarah (Davis) Scott. 
Mrs. DruciUa Matney died in Sorento February 
2.5, 1888. 

Dr. IMatney was married to his present wife in 
St. Louis April 17,1881). She was Miss Melvina 
.Mien, a daughter of Abr.-un Allen, now of New 
Douglas, Madison County, III. Two chihlren have 
been born to Dr. and .AL-s. Matney, Mabel Louise 
and Willi;un I)., .Ir. Dr. .Matney came from an old 
Democratic family, but at the brcMking out of the 
war ho joined hands with the part^- that was des- 



tined to do so much for the salvation of his coun- 
try and has ever since been an ardent Republican. 
He has since been favored with many local offices 
by ills party. While residing at Oconee, he served 
as Postmaster for five j'ears and was a member of 
the Shelby County Board of Supervisors. At 
Harvel, he held the otliee of Town Clerk for five 
years and was besides a Village Trustee. For the 
past seven years, he h.as been Police Magistrate of 
Sorento. He is a prominent and enthusiastic 
member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and 
for two years has been Commander of the Samuel 
BicAdams Post No. 497, of Sorento. He is a 
member of Sorento Lodge No. 318, K. of P., 
holding the Chair of Past Chancellor Commander. 
He is also prominent in the Masonic fratei'uity, 
being Master of Lodge No. 392, of Oconee, and 
now a member and Past Master, of Madison Lodge 
No. .51)0, of New Douglas. 



— <g i' 



M>^^<m 




"^^JQ) 



W. BRAY. In few branches of art or 
science have there been such develo|)ments 
^^ or perfected improvements as in photog- 
raphy, and no establishment in Mont- 
gomery County shows more conclusive jM^iof of 
this assertion than tiiat of II. W. Br.ay, of Noko- 
mis. He is an artist of wide reputation, his works 
have a wide circulation, and wherever exhibited 
form the chief attraction for the professional as 
well as the amateur. Mr. Bray w.as born in the 
Nutmeg State, at Glastonlniry, Febrnary 24, 1823, 
and is a son of Alfred and Sarah (Talcott) Bray. 

Our subject's great-grandfather, John Bray, 
came from England to America many years prior 
to the Revolutionary War, and after residing for a 
short time in Maine, removed to Connecticut, and 
later held a Captain's commission in the War of 
the Revolution. His son, the grandfather of onr 
subject, .lohn Bray, Jr., w.as born in Connecticut, 
.as was also Alfred Bray, father of our subject. Oli- 
ver Talcott, tlie grandfather on the mother's side, 
was a native of England, l)nt t^crved in the Revo- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



391 



Inlionai-y War under (iencral (iatfs. He married 
Miss; Jane Bak-li, a noted siiiyer of her day, who 
had the honor of singintr at a reception given to 
Gen. Wasliingt(.)n at Haiirord, Conn. 

jVlfred Uray, fatiier of our subject, \va.-i tlie owner 
of a woolen mill at Woodstock, Conn., where he 
liail moved when the (U'iginal of this notice was 
about two \ears of age. In IH.'iO, he came to the 
then far West, locating in P(u-tage County, Ohio, 
about lifty miles southeast of Cleveland. Soon 
afterward he moved to Atwater, Ohio, where he 
died in 1835, the mother following him to the 
g'rave a numlier of \ ears later. Our subject was 
early initiated in the duties of the farm and re- 
ceived but limited educational advantages, being 
obliged to travel three or four nules to the log 
schoolliouse. When eighteen years ofagehecom- 
menced to learn the shoemaker's trade, but after 
following it for three years aliandoned it |)erma- 
nently. For three years he was engaged in paint- 
ing, and in l.si7 he went to Syracuse, N. Y., to 
learn the art of ]]hotogiapliy. .Suliseciueutly he 
followed the occupation of a traveling artist in 
Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania until IHfi;}, when 
he located at Pana, 111., and there resided for three 
years. Later, his health faded and he S(jld out, 
and for the next fourteen years was a painter in 
the employ of the Ohio tV Mississipjii Railroad 
Company, being foreman of the slujps for twelve 
3'ears cif that time. 

Since then ]\Ir. I>ray has been engaged as a pho- 
togra))her, and in the spring of 18'J2 located at 
Nokomis, where he and his son (ieorge have since 
carried on the l)usiness. His workisof the highest 
artistic merit, and .at such reasonabh' [irices as 
cannot fail to satisfy the inclination and taste of 
all customers. He has become well known for se- 
curing to sitters before the camera a gracefid, 
natural pose and a i)leasing expi'cssion, and m all 
his work is to be seen the master hand of the 
thorough expert artist. His work compares favtir- 
ably with that of the leading artists of the land. 

I n eai'ly life jMr. Lr.ay espoused the principles 
of the Whig i)arty. but he has been identilied 
with the Republican party since its origin. In the 
year 1817. at DeWitt, N. V.. he was m.arrieil to 
Miss Ann' Wtiod, of Cleveland, ()hio,and lliev 



have four children, two sons and two daughters, 
.as follows: Kmma, wife of Dr. .1. II. Kitz, a miller 
of Taylorsville, 111.; Francis, a loconifitive engi- 
neer on the .Missouri I'acilic Railroad; llattie, 
the wife of .1. M. Kloi', a merchant of Hilisboro; 
and (ieorge, who is in business with his father. 
Mr. and jNIrs. Ilray are exemplary menilxns of the 
liaptist Church. 



fATHER 1>. F. CARROLL, the |)opular Priest 
of .St. Mary's Cathedral of LitcliHeld, was 
/li born in .lancsville. Wis., on the lOth of 

September, ISoT.and is the son of \\'illiani and 
Alice (Fai'riugton) Carroll. He I'cceived his pri- 
marv education in the schools of liis native place, 
in Rock Township, where his father was a farmer. 
After comi)leting the course of study in the home 
schools, he entei'ed St. Francis' Seniinar\-, near Mil- 
waukee. where he pursued both liisclassical and theo- 
logical studies, and completed the i)rescribe(l course. 
June 29, 1881, he was ordained to the priesthood 
at Alton. 111., and for a short time he was stationed 
at the cathedral in that city. He was sent to this 
charge in August, 1882. 

The young piiest possessed energy and enthusi- 
asm, and immediately after coming to Litchtield 
began to look about for sf)me w.ay in which he 
ccnild best assist his parish. He found the small 
brick cditice entirely inadecpiate for his congrega- 
tion, which consistedof two hundred and ten fami- 
lies, including the (iernian commuiiic:\nts. Soon 
after taking charge, in Ma\', l!S8;i, he called a meet- 
ing of his parish, .and an assessment was decide(l 
upon, and immedi.-itcly the work of collecting 
money for a new building was comnu need. He 
was so successful that in 1881 the foundation was 
laid for a licauliful new church, which was dedi- 
cated in Jul\-. 1.S8JS. This structure combines 
some of the most elaborate architectural designs in 
its const rnct ion. and is :iii <Mn;inient to the city. 
II is i;U'ix.'i8 feet in dimensions, and the nave is 



392 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



fifty feel from tlie floor to the ceiling. The vestry 
is apijropiiately furnished and the chapel is also in 
fine order. 

Altliuugh the church was not dedicated until 
I.S.S8, it has been used since 1886. After the Ger- 
mans withdrew from the congregation it left only 
one hundred and sixty families, hut tlie number 
now is aliout two hundred again. Bishop Ryan, 
of Altcm, conducted the dedication services, which 
were very interesting, and Bishop Spaulding, of 
Peoria, preaclied tlie dedicatory sermon, and a large 
number of clergymen were present. The jiarson- 
age was built in 18',)0 and is one of the linest in 
the country, being of a pleasing style of architec- 
ture, two stories in height with a ga)-ret. It is lo- 
cated on the same plat of ground with the church. 
In connection with the church is a Sisters' school, 
which Father Carroll has had repaired and remod- 
eled. The cost of the church has been ii!30,00() 
and the cost of the house $7,000. Tiie church 
property covers the entire front of one lilock. 
Father Carroll has not spared himself since begin- 
ning his work here. Ills duties in the lKis|)italare 
many, but there is nothing too hard or too dis- 
agreeable for him to undertake when others may 
be helijed thereby. He has the confidence and re- 
gard of his parisiiioners, and has accom|)lislied a 
wonderful amount of work since he has l)een 
among them. 




': LBERT J. UTIGKR was the efficient 
County Treasurer of Bond County, and is 
lii a prosperous merciiant of J'ierron, Hoiid 
County. Hi. Tlic gentleman of whom 
this sketch speaks was liorn at St. .Jacob, Madison 
County, Ili.,Marcli 1^,180,3. He was tlie son of Sil- 
van Utiger, who was a native of the canton of Zng, 
Switzerland, who came to this country in 1837. 
and located at Louisville, Ivy., where he lemained 
for one year. He then came North into Madison 
County, where he engaged at farming and worked 



at the trade of a machinist until his death in 1 862. 
Mr. Utiger married Nanette Zumbach, who was 
born in the same place in Switzerland, and she died 
at the age of seventy-six years, having been the 
mother of nine children. 

Our subject was a twin and the eighth child of 
the family, and was reared in Madison County 
and attended the common schools in Highland. 
At the age of twenty years he was, in the parlance 
of the villages of Illinois, "given his time," and 
began life for himself dependent upon his own re- 
sources. His first business venture was made in 
teaching school, and he remained three terms in 
Madison County, and then secured a clerkship in 
his lirotlicr's store in Alhanibra, 111. Later, he 
opened a general store at Pierron, with a paitner 
named A. A. Suppiger, and the firm name was 
Suppiger & Utiger. 

This [laitneiship in business continued for three 
years, and at the end of that time our subject was 
elected to the important ofBce of County Treasurer, 
and in the fall of 1882 he sold out here and moved 
to Greenville. Mr. Utiger served in his responsi- 
ble office until the fall of 1886, when he moved into 
Alliambra and 0|)ened a store there, which he con- 
tinued for two years; but in February, 1889, he 
returned here and now has a very large general 
store at this place. 

The marriage of Mr. Utiger took place Decem- 
ber 17, 1885, to Miss Margaret R. Plant, who was 
a native of this county. Two children have been 
added to the household, whose names are Bertha 
and Laura. The store of our subject is a 
very comprehensive one and he carries a com- 
plete stock of all that the village shoppers could 
require, and also meets the wants of the farming 
community throughout the neighborhood for 
miles. He has dry goods, groceries, boots and 
shoes, hats, ca])s, notions and drugs, and in this he 
follows the exani))le of some of the largest mer- 
cantile houses in both New York and Chicago. 

The political faith of our Mibject constrains him 
to belong to the Democratic party, and he feels 
that in that body can be found the best principles 
foi- the government of a re|iiiblic. A\'lieii he was 
elected to the ollice of Treasurer, he was running 
upon the Independent ticket. He is s member 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



395 



and svi|)|jorter of the Lutheran Church, and is a 
man wliose friends are many, not only in tlie po- 
litical circles in vvhicli he is active, l)ut among his 
patrons and neiglibors, who have testified to their 
regard by giving him a liberal ))atronage. 



1=1 



"S) 



^+->^ 



"^ 



^ 



W AMKS lAL-CHACKKN, Si;. Althougli South- 
! cm Illinois is being developed within recent 
I years in a remarkable way. It would seem that 
' its natives have appreciated in a dormant 
manner the resources and advantages of the coun- 
try, for instead of restlessly roaming in other places, 
as do the youth of so many other countries, they 
have, as a rule, remained at honie, lin<ling here all 
that they desire. Our suliject, who resides in 
Shoal Creek Township, liond County, is one of 
those who iiave apjMeeiated the beauty and advan- 
tages to be derived from his native locality. He 
was born in the I'rairie State, in Clinton County, 
November 28, 1814. He is a son of .Tames and 
Nancy (Ilauchen) McCraeken. His tather was a 
native of North Carolina, having l)een born there 
in 1776. His grandfather, whose name was also 
James, served in the Kevolutionary War. 

About LSOCI, .lames McCraeken, tlie father of 
our subject, removed to Kentucky and settled in a 
county which was later named in honor of himself. 
The family came to 1 Uinois, however, some years 
before the birth of our subject, and located in 
Clinton County, where the elder Mr. McCraeken 
died. 

The original of this sketch was the fourth child 
of a family of ten, and ho and two sisters are the 
only surviving members, they having reached ad- 
vanced years. Hi> eldest sister, Naney, is the wife 
of Barney Wright, and has been a resident of the 
State of Iowa for more than fifty years. Klizabetli 
is the wife of Henry File, who served in the Mex- 
ican War, and now lives in IJarton (\)unty, 
Mo. Those that lia\'e passed away wei-e: ,Jane; 
Nathan, a soldier in the Mexican War, who 
died in .lannary, 18il-2; Ruth; Polly and Sallie, 



twins, between whose decease there was a lapse of 
many years, the latter having passed away only 
three years ago; John P., who died three years ago, 
also did his country good sei'vice in the Mexican 
War. 

Mr. McCraeken was reared on a farm and the 
agricultural calling has been his life business. He 
came to Bond County in IS.'iO, and settled in Shoal 
Creek Townshiii, locating [)erinanently in 18i0 
on the farm where he now li\-es. It is a beautiful 
I'ural liome, wlK)se eighty acres of fertile .soil have 
yielded a rich return for tlie labor expended upon 
them. 

July 2.'!, 1 8.'M, oiirsubject mariied Mary M.,lones, 
a native of Alaury County, 'J'eiin., who came to llli.; 
nois with her parents in 182'.t. There is something 
impressive in the history of a union that extends 
over many years, where the interests of two (leoph! 
have become one, as is impossible to any relation 
e.xee[)t the marital. Es])ecially is this true when 
(iod has given into the care and keeping of the 
parents little souls that are to lie trained, not only 
to the highest type of manliood for this lift;, liut 
with a view to fitting themselves for their sov- 
ereignty in the life to come. Sixteen children 
were born to the union of Mr. and IMrs. McCraeken. 
The children who reached the age of iiianhood 
and womanhood are as follows: James, .Ir., born 
July t, 1835, in Bond County, married, iNovemlier 
27, 186(i, Martha Armstrong, who was of Scotch 
and Irish ancestry. James, Jr., and his wife are the 
Ijarents of four children, three of whom are living: 
James Edgar, Albert N. and Mabel .1., the latter a 
teacher in the public schools. The second son was 
Elias, who died in the service of his coiintiy, in 
August, 18()1. .lohn T. is a farmer living in Shoal 
Creek Township. Elizabeth is the wife of S. H. 
Libby, of Reno. William P. is a farmer in this 
township. Hugh Douglass is a resident of Shoal 
Creek Township. Pebecca li\-es with her aged 
parents. i.ucy is the wife of Ch.ailes lleiinesey 
and lives in Ki[)ley Township. Sarah J., (leorge, 
MaryE., Alliert II , Hinini .N., Il.itlie L.. .\nnie U. 
and Nathan L. are deceased. 

Long years ago the Deinoeratie principles were 
instilled into the mind of our subject, and the 
constancy of his nature is exemplified in this as in 



396 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



other tilings, that lir lia~ always been true to his 
Ijarl\'. His sons have been brought up as loyal ad- 
herents of the Jat'ksonian faith. Mr. IMcCraeken 
is an Odd Fellow and a member of the Farmers' 
Mutual Benefit Association. In his church aflilia- 
tions, he is a ISIethodist. Of all the older pioneer 
settlers in this localit}', none receive greater defer- 
ence than does the venerable gentleman of whom 
we write. He is loved and honored by all who 
know him. 



f/lLLIAM A. YOUNG. This gentleman is 
one of the representative agriculturists of 
'\i/^ Butler (Jrove Township, Montgomery 
County, wliere he was born August 20, 183(). His 
father, William Young, is a native of Tennessee, 
and his mother, .Jane C. (Paisley) Young, a native 
of North Carolina. AVilliam Young, Sr., emi- 
grated to Montgomery County in the year 1830, 
and in 1832 was married to Jane C.Paisley, of the 
same country. This union resulted in the birth 
of nine children, six of whom grew to mature 
\'ears: James J., .John W., William A., Harriet 
E., Sarah J. and Samuel. The mother of this 
family died in 1854. Mr. Young was again mar- 
ried, choosing as his second wife Miss Eva Brown, 
of Bond County, this State. Tliis marriage has 
resulted in the birth of three children. For a 
number of years the father of our subject served 
as Justice of the Pe.ace and was a member of the 
State Legislature of 1854. He served as a soldier 
in the Black Hawk War in 1832. He and his 
present wife are residing on his fine farm near 
Hillsboro, 111. 

Henry Young, the grandfather of our subject, 
was of Scotch descent, but a native of Pennsylva- 
nia. He was married in North Carolina to Miss 
.Sally Fifer, a native of Germany. Nine children, 
four sons and five daugiiters, were born to this 
couple, three only of whom now survive. Tlie 
maternal grandparents were of Scotch descent. 
Our subject was reared upon a farm near tlie 



town of Donnolkon, Montgomery County, 111., 
and attended such subscription schools as were 
taught in that day, )>revious to tlie adoption of 
the present free-school system. In 1855, at the 
age of nineteen years, he entered the Hillsboro 
Academy and remained until April of the follow- 
ing year. He then taught school for one year, and 
in April of 1858 entered McKendree College, from 
which he graduated two years later. In June, 1860, 
he returned to Hillsboro and read laAv one year in 
the office of James M. Davis. July 7, 1861, he en- 
listed as Quartermaster-Sergeant in Company E, 
First Regiment of the Illinois Cavalry, and served 
in Fremont's campaign in Missouri until the sur- 
render of Gen. INIulligan to Gen. Price at Lexing- 
ton, Mo., September 20, 1861. Our subject was then 
paroled and sent home, and in December of the 
following year was a|)pointed by the late Sheriff 
Harrison Brown Deputy Collector of Montgomery 
County. In 1S64 he was elected Sheriff of the 
county, which office he tilled to the entire satisfac- 
tion of all his constituents, until the expiration of 
his term in 1866. 

William A. Young, of whom we write this brief 
history, was united in marriage November 28, 
1866, to Miss Maiy E. Ware, daughter of Obadiah 
^Vare. The following summer the young couple 
moved to the farm where he at present resides. 
Januaiy 1, 1870, the wife and mother was called 
from this life, leaving two sons, viz: Anthony O., 
who was born December 25, 1868, and is now a stu- 
dent at Beaumont Medical College at St. Louis; and 
William A., Jr., born November !), 1869, who has 
had the degree of Doctor of Medicine conferred 
upon him by the medical department of Wash- 
ington University at St. Louis and is now prac- 
ticing his profession at Springfield, III. In Sep- 
tember, 1871, our subject took as his second wife 
Miss Sarah Muenscher, of Mt. Veiiion, Ohio, to 
whom four children have been born, who are 
named as follows: Frederica, Charles S., Cornelia 
and Eunice, all of whom are at home. 

The large farm which Mr. Young operates con- 
sists of five hundred and forty acres and is well 
stocked and nicelj' embellished with first-class im- 
provements. At a meeting of the State Board of 
Agriculture held in Peoria in 1892, he was elected 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



d% 



Vice-president of that society for the Seventeenth 
Congressional District. He is a tliorough farmer, 
a scientific horticulturist, and is also well versed in 
fine stock, especially hogs, sheep and cattle. He 
has devoted his entire life to practical and scien- 
tific agriculture and is one of the liest-iuf(U'nie(i 
fanners in Montgonier\' County. 

Socially our subject is a member of the Ancient 
Free and Accepted Jlasons and Hoyal Arch Chaf)- 
ter of Hillsboro, and in politics is a strong adher- 
ent t)f the Democratic doctrines. In religious mat- 
ters lie is a memlicr of tlic Lutheran denomina- 
tion. 




HJ.IAM H. .All NICHOLS. l-Y.r many 
\/\/// .vears this representative citizen has been 
'W^ -I resident of Montgomery County, 111., 
and during tiiat time has been prominently iden- 
tilied with the farming interests of the same. Al- 
though just in the prime of life, he has made his 
way to the front ranks among the energetic, thor- 
ough going farmers of the county, and owing to 
the attention he has always paid to each minor de- 
tail, he has accumulated a fair share of this world's 
goods. I'pright and honorable in every walk of 
life, he is well respected by all, and has a host of 
warm friends. He served his country faitiifully 
during the Ci\il War, w,as ever to be found at the 
front, and was a loyal, true-hearted soldier. 

Mr. McNichols was born in Hamilton County, 
Oliio, January 14, 1S42, and is tin- eldest of a fam- 
ily of eight children boi-n to .loseph and .lane 
McNichols. But little is known of the McNich- 
ols family, except the mere fact tlint his father 
was a native of New .Jersey, and was of Scotch- 
Irish descent. In I S5.5 the family came to Mont- 
gomery County, 111., and located (ni the farm where 
our subject now resides, and there the father 
passed away in 1874. The mother is still living 
on the old homestead. Our subject grew to sturdy 
manhood on tins pioneer farm, and secured but a 
common-school education. When the Civil War 



broke out he flung aside the implements of peace 
to take III) the wea|)Oiis of warfare, and, allhougli 
a boy of only twenty summers, he enlisted early i,n 
\HG2 to light for the Old Flag. On the 11th of 
August his name w.as on the rolls of Company B, 
Seventy-third Illinois Infantry (called the Preach- 
ers' Regiment ), as a private, and he was mustered in 
at Camp Butler. He was immediately sent to the 
front at, Louisville, Ky., and there joined the 
Army of the Cumberland, Shcritlan's division. 
Our subject's command was sent to Co\'inglon at 
the time Kirby Smith made his ilaring raid, but 
soon relumed to Louisville. He was in the heat 
of battle at I'erryville. this being his (irst general 
engagement, and next he was in front at the 
bloody battle at Stone Rivei'. After this he was 
in the vicinity of Murfreesboni, engaged in scout- 
ing and skirmishing, until his command was or- 
dered to the riege of that great and bloody battle 
of Chickamauga. On the second day, while his 
regiment w.as making a desperate chai'ge on the 
works of the enemy and the bullets were falling 
like hail, and the field covered with his dead and 
wounded comrades, our subject fell too, pierced by 
the Confederate bullets. He was carried from the 
field, and by an ambulance to a liospital liftcen miles 
away. There it was found that one liall had 
lodged in his right hip, another in his left thigh, 
and a third had plowed its way tlir<nigh liis left 
thigh. The one in his right hip was removed, but 
tlie one in his left thigh could not be found, and 
to this day he carries it as a memento of that, 
bloody day. 

JMr. McNichols remained in the hos[)it,al for 
some time, and suffered great pain. When able to 
travel he procured a furlough and returneil to his 
home in Illinois. In the spring following he 
returned to the front, Imt was not able for duty, 
being in the different hos|)itals, including (^>uiiicy 
and Chicago, until the close of the war. or .luly "2. 
isi;."). lie w.as discharged at the last-named city. 
In his regiment were two uncles, C. W. and W. !«. 
McNichols. The latter was taken prisonei- at the 
sanu! baffle in which cnu- sid)jeet was so severely 
wounded, and after figliting sf,arvation in Libby 
prison for thirteen months, died a terrible death. 
He now lies in an unknown and unmarked grave. 



398 



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRATHICAL RECORD. 



The former, C. W. McNichols, served through the 
war, and is iion- living in Shelby County, 111. 
After his discharge our subject returned to his 
home and eng.iged in farming, which has been his 
business ever since. He has continued to live on 
the old homestead, but in 1872 he bought another 
farm for himself, about two miles soutii of the 
place where he now lives. With the exception of 
one sister, who lives in the .Sun (lower State, the 
children are all living in the vicinity of the old 
home. Mr. McNichols has ever been a stanch Re- 
publican in politics, and is an enthusiastic Grand 
Army man, being a member of the post at Noko- 
mis. He has never held any political oftices, but has 
been School Trustee, and has held other such posi- 
tions. He has never married, and is a man highly 
spoken of, and one of true worth. 



\^^^ 



'^i OHN D. WALLIS. Allliough our subject is 
the son of parents born under the sunny 
heavens of the South, iinbil)ing the glad- 
ness of the semi-tropical nature, lie himself 
was born in the Prairie State, his natal day hav- 
ing been December (5, 1830, and Greene County 
the place of his birth. He is the son of William 
P. Wallis, a native of Tennessee, and of Nancy 
(Stone) Wallis, also of Tennessee, where the 
couple were married, coming to Greene County, 
111., in their early wedded days. 

Our subject w.as deprived of a mother's love and 
care in his infancy, her death having occurred in 
1832. The father survived until 1873 and (inally 
expired in Madison County, this State. John Wal- 
lis was tlie younger of two children born of the un- 
ion of his parents. When he was but four 3ears 
old his father removed to Madison County, where 
he continued to live for the most i)art until 1867. 
At that lime, he came to Montgomery County and 
settled on section 2, North Litchfield Township, 
where he has ever since been a resident. 

Brought up as a farmer, our subject has been 
devoted to that calling all iiis life and has brought 



to it all the resources of his fertile mind and pru- 
dent industry. His farm comprises one hundred 
and fifty fertile acres. Nature has done much for 
his tract and has been ably seconded by the efforts 
of the owner. The best of improvements are here 
found; he has an excellently built residence, which 
was constructed with an especial view to comfort. 
The outbuildings are in good repaii' and the liarns 
are capacious and well filled. 

August 10, 1854, in Madison County, Mr. Wal- 
lis married Miss Mary E. Shaffer, the third daugh- 
ter of Jo.seph and Lucy (Randall) Shaffer, who 
were natives of North Carolina. Mr. Shaffer was 
a farmer and among the early settlers in Madison 
County, where both he and his wife died. Mrs. 
Wallis, the third in order of birth of nine chil- 
dren, was born September 6, 1836, in Madison 
County, where she lived until her marriage. She 
has never shrunk from any responsibility in her 
domestic life, but has ably seconded her husband 
both in establishing a pleasant and comfortable 
home and in rearing their large family of children, 
which has numbered thirteen, but only eight are 
living at the (iresent time. 

The surviving children are as follows: William 
II., who married Miss Nancy 15. Crawford, is en- 
gaged as a farmer in Zanesville Township. Their 
fiv(! children are James A., Charles H., Grace 
L., Minnie A. and Rosa B. .lohn A. married 
Miss Emma Burriss and they had two children: 
Walter A. and Franklin I). On the decease of 
his first wife John married Maggie Brice. The 
third child is a daughter. Flora J., now the wife 
of Edward L. Denton and the mother of a bright 
boy named Charles N. Lucy A. is the wife of 
John Saxby and the mother of two children: 
Mary E. and Palmer F. (Jeorge W. married Miss 
Alicc! Gordon and they are the jjarents of two 
children: Albert E. and Jesse. Lilly M. is the 
wife of .losiali Armour and is the mother of one 
child, Stella M. Mary I. is the wife of Franklin 
McWilliams. The youngest surviving child is 
Ida L. 

Mr. Wallis is a man of sterling pniuiiiles and 
stands high in the estimation of his fellow-towns- 
men. .Since coming to Montgomery County he 
has been .School Director for twent}- j'ears. For 







RESIDENCE OF W^ G. M9. CASLl N , SEIC 11. MILLS TP BON D CO. i LL. 




RESIDENCE OF J . D. VI/,>Ll 1 5 , SEC.^ . N. LITCH Fl ELD TP. MONTGOMERY CO , i LL . 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



401 



six 3'ear.s he served as Highway C'oniniisi<i(iiu'r and 
for seveji years he acted as Notary Public. He 
takes ail active interest in li(.)th local and polHical 
affairs. He atliliates with the People's part}' and 
is a strong advocate of tlie principles of that party. 
Since about 1872 our subject has cast the weight 
of liis inlkience wilfi the independents. He is liii- 
eral in his church views but Blrs. Wallis is a de- 
voted worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
The original of this sketch is an integer of the 
great army who, beginning life with no ulterior 
advantages, have worked their way unaided to a 
success that includes the respect and honor of their 
fellow-men. He had a memorable experience dur- 
ing the winter of l.siC, when he served as mail 
carrier from Carlyle, in Clinton County, to llills- 
boro, and his endurance of the hardships during 
that winter, when the cnuntry was undeveloped, 
would have tried nianv a stroiiijer man. 



;1LLIAM (;. M( CASEIN, a successful far- 
mer of Jlills Township, resides near Dud- 
W'^l leyville. He Iielongs to one of the ohJ 
families of the State, and has witnessed almost all 
of the improvements i:)f his section. No residents 
of this county receive more respect than he and 
his excellent wife. He was born at this i)lace July 
13, 1820, and ha.s therefore been identified with 
the progre.ss of P>ond County for many years. 

The grandfather of our suliject, James IMcCaslin, 
was born ten miles south of Dublin, Ireland, and 
came to America with his paicnts when he was six 
years old. The family settled in N(nth Carolina, 
where the father of .lames died two years later. 
The latter became a farmei' and moved into South 
Carolina, and from llieie to Kentucky, where he 
reared his family in Caldwell County. In 1828 
he removed liy wagon to this county and benight 
the farm now owned b^' our subject. He lived to 
be eighty years old, and before his death witnessed 
many improvements in the surroundings of the 
liome he had selected for his family. At that time 



tlie wolves and deer still roamed over the prairie 
and through the timber at will, and were often 
ti'iiublesome visitors near the log I'abins of the 
early settlers. 

The father of our subject was twenty years of 
age when he came North, and in the same year in 
which tli.'it i-emoval occurred his marriage took 
place. To him is due the most of the clearing and 
dcvnloping of the farm. At the time of his arrival 
here there were only a few log cabins where the 
tlourislimg town of (ireenville now stands, and 
close was the friendship of Ihese isolated neigii- 
bors. 'I'lie ^r:iin which i\Ir. JlcCaslin raised, he 
was obliged lo haul to St. Louis, and this trip re- 
(luireil four oi' live days to accomplish. Camping 
out by the way was a necessity, but altogether the 
young farmers did not object to the little outing. 
It gave Ihem a peep at the outside world, and 
after one of those jtmnieys the man of the 
house felt very cosmopolitan. 

On these rich lands Mr. McCaslin, Si-., h.arvested 
large crops of grain, and became one of the largest 
stockmen in the county. About the last of the 
Black Hawk War, he was drafted into service, but 
was not called out. After fifty-one years of hon- 
orable, industrious living, he died at his home. In 
l)olitics he was a Whig and a lirm believer in his 
opinions, when he was sure he was riulit. The 
mother of our subject was before marriage Mary 
M. Mills, and was born in Tennessee, coming here 
with her parents at the same time as did the Mc 
Caslin family, the two fathers having fallen in with 
each other on the way to the State. Her father, Will- 
iam Mills, was a native of Tennessee, and combined 
farming with that of Methodist minister. He 
did much toward establishing that denomina- 
tion in this section, and gave his house as a meel- 
ing-[ilace where he taught tlu; people. In his old 
age he went to Texas, and died there at the age of 
eighty years. 

The mother of our subject reared nine children: 
Willi.'im, Klizabelh A., David M., Nancy I., Corde- 
lia, Rebecca, John \V.,(ieorge W. and Martha E. The 
mother died at the age of sixty-six years, lamented 
by family and friends. She had been a valued mem- 
ber of the iSIethodist Church. Our suliject was 
born and reared in the same house in wliich he 



402 



PORTRAIT AND BlOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



now lives. He was educated in the log sciiool, 
house, wliieh now only serves to adorn the land- 
scape of some rural artist. It was not beautiful, 
but served its purpose at I he time. There were 
only three months of school in the year, and vevy 
m.any of the self-made men of to-day had only 
one term at the best. Deer were ijlentiful in those 
early times and venison did not have to come on 
ice from the far West. The wolves made it a ne- 
cessity to pen up the sheep securely. 

Our sul)ject began life for himself at the age of 
twentj'-one, and in March, 18.51, he married Miss 
Mar^' J. Steel, who was Iiorn in Morgan County, 
111. Mr. and Mrs. McCaslin have reared eleven 
cliildren, namely; John W., Catherine I., Clara A., 
Harriet M. (deceased), James, Uretta B., Warren 
E., Henry AV., Mary F., Alonzo A. and Cary H. 
Mr. McCaslin first rented a part of the home place 
for one year, and then bought a small tract of 
land in Okaw Township, where he lived for two 
years, but at the end of that time he returned 
here, and now owns two hundred and eighty acres 
of the home place. Ujjon this he has made the 
most of the improvements and has cleared eighty 
acres, rebuilt the house, and added two barns and 
a granary. He carries on mixed farming and 
raises cattle and horses. Originally our subject 
was a Republican, but now he is a member of the 
People's party, and is identified with the Farmers' 
Mutual Benefit Association. He has served as 
Road Commissioner for a year, and was School 
Director for a long time. He and his wife com- 
mand the respect of the neighborhood as honor- 
able, progressive people. 



=^E 



E^^ 



SMITH DENMAN. The mercantile trade 
has long been one of tlu^ leading features 
) of our country and in this line is to be 
found in Nokomis a thoroughly represen- 
tative house controlled by Mr. Smith Denman, who 
is regarded as an upright and energetic man of 
business, respected alike in business and social cir- 



cles. He is a native of the Sucker Slate, born near 
Bloomington, in McLean County, March 27, 1841, 
and is a son of Smith and Elizabeth (Dixon) 
Denman, the father of English ancestry but of 
New Jersey nativity, and the mother of English- 
Scotch ancestry but a native of A'irgiuia. Both 
families figured in the history of the conntiy far 
back in old Colonial days, and an uncle of our 
subject (his mother's brother) fought witli valor 
in the Black Hawk War. 

Smith Denman, Sr., was a pioneer of Illinois, 
having settled on the farm near Bloomington, in 
McLean Countj", in 1829, and died there in 187.5, 
having spent nearly half a centuiy in the same 
place. On this farm our subject was born. He 
passed his boyhood days in assisting his father on 
the farm during the summer months and during 
the winter seasons in the school room. When the 
black cloud of war began to hover darkly over 
the nation, our subject was filled with a patriotic 
desire to fight for the Old Flag, and although but 
a boy in years, he possessed the courage and deter- 
mination of a man. On the 3d of September, 
18G1, he enlisted in Company B, Fifty-second Illi- 
nois Infantry, as a private, and after spending a 
short time in Chicago, where his regiment was 
organized, his command was ordered to St. Louis. 
From there he went to St. Joseph, Mo., where his 
regiment was divided up to do guard duty, his 
company being sent to Stewartsvillc, in DeKalb 
County, where he w.as on guard duty during the 
winter of 1861-62. 

In the latter part of February the regiment was 
called together and ordered to proceed to Cairo. 
When within about five miles of Quincy, it was 
found that the railroads and bridges had been 
destroyed, and all communication had been cut 
off. As a consequence, they were obliged to make 
their way on foot, Mr. Denman and a comrade 
walking the entire distance in their stocking feet, 
with snow and slush up to their knees. Finally, 
crossing the river on the ice, they entered the city 
of Quincy with their shoes swung across their 
shoulders. Strange as it may seem, their feet 
were not frozen. In fact, Mr. Denman said in re- 
lating this little incident: "They were not even 
cold." After all the regiment had reached the 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



403 



latter city they received orders to remove at once 
to Cairo, where they arrived about tlie 1st of 
Maicli, lHt;2. From there they went to Ft. Holt, 
Ky., and were in cam)) there for al)f)ut a niontli, 
when orders came to proceed to Ft. Donelson. 
They arrived there, however, after the surrender 
of tlie fort. 

Our subject then assisted in removing tlie prison- 
ers to .Springfield, 111., and was retained there for 
some time to guard them. After this, he and his 
regiment were ordered to join the forces being 
centered at .Shil(.)h, and participated in that most 
bloody battle. That was a terrible baptism of fire 
to the young soldier, as lie saw his comrades fall- 
ing iqion every side, but he never wavered. "On, 
on, til do or diel" was liis watchword. His regi- 
ment lost one-half of its men m killed, wounded 
and missing. After this came the memorable siege 
of Corinth, where we again find our heroic soldier 
in tlie heat of battle. lUit he, too, was doomed to 
soon fall pierced by a Confederate bullet, and on 
the afternoon of the first day '.s fighting he was lying 
lielpless and bleeding on the battlefield, having 
been struck in the left leg just above the ankle, 
the bone being shattered. He was taken to the 
field hospital, where his wound was dressed, and 
then, with others, lie was taken to a hotel that had 
been turned into a hospital. It was not long be- 
fore the shells of the enemy were fiying in and 
around the house and it became necessary for the 
wounded soldiers to be again removed to a 
place of safety. They were soon transported to 
Columbus, Ky., thence to Mound City, III., where 
our subject was placed in a hospital and suffered 
untold agon}' for a long time. He was compelled 
to remain there until January 2.'!, l<s(),S, on which 
(late he was discharged for disability. He felt 
that he had done his duty to his country, carrying 
a scar tliat would ever remind him of his war rec- 
ord, and returned to his home near Bloomington. 

Our subject was engaged in farming ui) to 1872, i 
when he removed to Nokcuuis and embarked in 
general merchandising, which he has conducted 
with tnarked success since. He has built up one 
of the finest business houses in this town and 
carries a choice stock of goods. I\Ir. Denman is a 
prominent Grand Army man, having been one of 



the charter members and one of the first officers of 
Cottingham Post No. 2;U), of Nok(jmis, and at 
three different times he has been its Commander, 
tli(! last time in 18',)1. I u politics, he is a stanch 
Kepiiblican and true to its every principle. In 
other words, he sa3-s he votes as he fought. As 
yet, he has never allowed his name to be connected 
with any political office. He was married in Se])- 
temlier, ISGf), to Miss Nettie A. Lawrence, a native 
of the Slate of Ohio; they liave no children. 



-^^- 



lOlJLUT C. PAISLLY, a prominent and 
wealthy farmer of Fxnid Coiiiit,y, III., and a 
^^ veteran of the late war, resides on his line 
farm of six hundred and seventy acres, 
lu^ar the village of Donnellson. He is a member 
of one of the earliest families of this part of the 
State. 

The suliject of this sketch was born in Latir.'inge 
Townshi[), June 21, 18.'?0. He w,as the son of 
William Paisley, who w.as a native of North Caro- 
lina. Li Colonial times the Paisley family came 
from Scotland to America, and the great-grand- 
father took [lart in the Revolutionary War, John 
Paisley, the grandfather of f)ur subject, was born in 
A'irginia, but was reared in North Carolina, where 
he became a farmer and distiller. He came to 
Montgomery County, III., about 1S2.'>, where he 
died at the age of seventy years. 

The father of our subject was one of the early 
settlers in Logan County, Ky., wliere he carried 
on the business of distilling. Hearing of the fer- 
tile lands toward the North, Mv. Paisley came (m 
a jirospeeting tour ou horsel)ack,and being pleased 
with what he saw returned home, resolved to re- 
move his family to this State, Accordingly, in 
1818, the family belongings were |)acked in a 
great wagon, the farewells were given in the 
old North State, and they set out to find a new 
home. After various adventures they reached Il- 
linois, where Mr. Paisley had entered Government 
land. Here he built a log cabin, and everything 



404 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



luokfil favorable for a lesidenoe, but soon after- 
ward llu' cabin liurned down with everything in 
it, and the family found themselves in a strange 
land with nothing but a team. 

Indians were plentiful in the eountrj' at that 
time, and often called at his cabin in their hunt- 
ing expeditions, as he was alwajs friendly- with 
them. There was never any danger of a famine, 
as deer and wild turkeys abounded. Wolves 
were so troublesome that it was with difficulty that 
he rai.sed any chickens or sheep, and the wildcats 
killed his pigs; even bears were here at that time, 
several of which he killed with an old flintlock 
rifle. It must be remembered that there was no 
mill where his corn could be ground whenever the 
suppl}' of meal ran low, and he was obliged to 
beat it in a mortar to get it fine enough for bread. 
The nearest market was St. Louis, and, as there 
were no railroads, all the produce had to be hauled 
b}' tiie farmers, which always meant a trip from 
six to eight days, with camping out at night. 

Mr. Paislej' owned nearly five hundred acres of 
land at the time of his death, wliicli occurred in 
1880, and upon this he had raised great quanti- 
ties of grain, and a large number of horses and 
cattle, as he was a hard worker and never spared 
himself. In religious matters, for many years he 
was a consistent member of the Cumberland Pres- 
byterian Church. In his early days he was an 
old-line Whig, a great Henry Clay man, and at 
the time of his death a stanch Republican. The 
mother of our subject, Nancy Nelson, a native of 
North Carolina, bore her husband ten children, all 
of whom grew to maturity. They are: James, 
Malinda, Minerva, Harry F., Nancy, Elizabeth, 
John N., Hfibert C., Jewell and William. She 
had held a membership in the Cumberland Church 
for many years, was the best of women, and died 
at the age of fifty-eight years, lamented by family 
and friends. 

(Jur subject was reared here and educated in the 
early schools oi tliis vicinity. He was obliged to 
walk two miles, but the advantages were only 
offered for thice months in the year. Mr. Paisley 
became something of a hunter, and has slain deer 
where his home now is. At the age of twenty- 
one years he began taking care of himself, and in 



1852, with thirty companions, he made a trip 
across the plains to California, and remained there 
three years. His mining in El Dorado County, 
Cal., was fairly successful, and he returned home 
b}' water. After this trip into the outside world, 
he located on this farm, in 1857, and in April of 
that year married Margaret Libbie, a native of 
Vermont, who was engaged in teaching school. 
Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Paisley, viz.: Frank, Annie and Horace. 

Mr. Paisley is a man of large means, and one of 
the wealthiest land-holders in the county. He has 
six hundred and seventy acres, of which seventy' 
are in timber, and he has lately sold two hundred 
and forty acres which were in his possession. His 
stock-raising and farming have been on an exten- 
sive scale. During the Civil War he enlisted in 
Comiiany D, Fifty-ninth Illinois Infantry, in Oc- 
tober. 1863, and served under Gen. Thomas. He 
took [larl in the battles of Franklin and Nash- 
ville, and was in the Texas campaign until the 
close of the war, being mustered out in the spring 
of 1865. 

Mr. Paisley and his wife are highl}' valued mem- 
bers of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In 
political opinions he favors the Republican party, 
and has held the offlce of Township Trustee ever 
since the close of the war. He has been a very 
successful man, and has always worked hard to 
obtain and keep what pr()perty he has. 



-mi 



^1 AMES W. WHITE. In writing the biogra- 
phies of the citizens of the Prairie State, it 
is remarkable how many of its men have 
vvgj/' been loyal to the State in which they have 
been born and reared. Under the genial skies of 
Illinois, the restless, dissatisfied longing for new 
fields, which is characteristic of the citizens of so 
many other States, is found wanting, nor can the 
reader wonder when tlie advantages and resources 
of this favored locality are taken into considera- 
tion. Our subject is a prominent pioneer of 



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRArHlCAL RECORD. 



405 



Montgomery County, and is a resident of Pitman 
To'^vll^^llijl, liaving a fine farm on section 'J. He 
was liiini in I'iice County, ti\i> State, August 14, 
1 8,1."). His parents were .lames and Ellizabctli 
(drowning) Wliite, botli natives of Kentueliy. 

Our sulijecfs anuestry is not witliout its stories 
of Jieroisni and loyalty. An uncle on tlie mater- 
nal side, a Mr. llrowning, is said to have been a 
soldier in the Wnv of 1812, and ho distinguished 
himself in the Ci'.ieliee Campaign, .lames and Eliz- 
abeth White came to Pike County in 1833. There 
they .secured a tract of (Government land, which 
was improved and cultivated, and made a valuable 
farm, which was later tiaded for other property. 
In 1854, our s"uliject. with his parents, removed t(j 
Macoupin County. While there, lioth father and 
mother died, the former m 187it, and the latter in 
1881. Tlie\- reared five children, and of tliese 
three survive: James W.; J'^lizabeth, wife t)f 
George Merryweather; and Charles E. 

Mr. White iwactically received his rearing and 
education in Pike County, and there were in- 
culcated in his youthful mind the lessons usually 
learned by a farmer lad. He attended the early 
subscription seluiols of the district and lifted him- 
self for the later duties of life. The original of 
this sketch was married .lanuary 14, 1S58, his bride 
being INIiss Susan Cromwell, a native of (xreenc 
County, Ohio. T<i them have been born eight 
children, three of whom are living: Lydia, wife of 
Richard Carroll; AHiert, and .lohn C. Mrs. White 
was born fin the 11th of May, 1838, a daugh- 
ter of Richard ;nid Ctiroline (Eiehalbergar) Ci'om- 
well. Her parents were natives of Maryland, and 
on the paternal side she is of English ancestry, 
being a liue;d desceiulant of ()livcr Cromwell, the 
J.ord I'rotector of Eughind. Her maternal ances- 
tors were (!crman. When she was but six years 
of age, the family came to Macoujiin County, this 
State, and were there numbered among the early 
settlers. Her father died at Bunker Hill, .luly 1, 
issll.and her mother pa>sed away ()ct(iber 17, 
18!lL'. 

Our subject came to Montgomery Countv in 
the year 1858, and located m what is now known 
as Harvel Township. He there remained until 
the year 1865, when he came to Pitman Town- 



ship, of which he has been a resident ever since. 
His farm comprises four hundred and sevenly- 
tive acres of very fertile and well-cultivated 
land. He has introduced into the work of farm- 
ing all the latest impro\'ements in machinery and 
has maile a thorough trial of the labor-saving 
implements of to-d.ay. He has been ably assisted 
in all hi> work by his wife, who is his prudent 
counselor and loving lielpmiite. 

IMr. White is a thoroughly wide-awake and pro- 
gressive citizen. He has introduced among his 
line >tock the celebrated grade tif Cotswold sheep, 
and also has five lielgium horses. In his political 
sentiments, Mr. White is independent, voting for 
whatever he believes to be for the best interests 
of his localitv and the ctuintrv at large. 



"JT'OIIN T. ROSS. The subject of this sketch 
I is a gentleman of ;icute business ability and 
at [iresent is the successful representative of 
*}^/ the Safety Homestead Associ;i.tion of St. 
Louis. Tins association has a ca|iital stock of 
$50,000,(100 and is well known and very jxipukir 
throughout this State. 

]\Ir. Poss was born in Il;imiltiiii, Ohio, August 4, 
1830. His parents were Amos and Lydia (Will- 
iams) Ross, who in the early |iart of this century 
emigrated from New .lersey to II;imilt(Ui. Mr. 
Ivoss, Sr., felled the lumber that he used in the 
construction of his home, which was built on the 
clearing made by himself. He w:is a contractor in 
brick and also owned and operated a sawmill. In 
the year 18(!0, he moved with his sons, H. S. an<l 
.1. '1'. Ross, from Hamilton, ( )hio, to Illinois, ;inil 
there remained until the time of his death, wdiich 
o(*urred some ten years later, when at the age of 
seventy-nine years. He left ;i, wife and live chil- 
di-en, the former dying two years .after the decease 
of her husliand. Of the children: Henry S. died 
in 1877; Ann became the wife; of David K. F.eatty, 
and is now dece.'ised; Charlotte, wife of .Joseph 
Coukling, resides in Jurseyville; Louis W. is the 



406 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



well-kunxvii Chancellor of the Law Department at 
Iowa City, Iowa, and one of the most proniinent 
attorneys in that State. 

Tlie gentleman with whose name we introdnce 
this sketch received his education in Ohio, .\ftei' 
corapletins;: his school course he engaged in the in- 
dustry of farming and stock-raising, lirsl in Oliio, 
l)ut in 1860 removed to Illinois, and followed that 
vocation until the year 1877. His next change in 
business was after moving to Litchfield, wliere he 
acted as agent for several manufacturers of agri- 
cultural implements, and after four years in this 
line he took a position with .John P. Mann}', man- 
ufacturer of reapeis and mowers at Ilockford, 111., 
of whose interests he had sole charge in the 
State of Illinois for seven years, and until his ap- 
pointment as Postmaster under President Harri- 
son. He filled that position acceptably and lion- 
orably for three years, resigning on account of ill 
health, since which tune he has been compelled to 
engage in active out-door pursuits. 

The wife of our subject was Rebecca Alex- 
ander in her maiden days, and a native of illddle- 
town, Ohio. The result of their union is a family 
of whom the parents may feel justly proud, each 
of tlieir children showing more than ordinary 
capabilities, and as the sons approach manhood 
tliey fill positions demanding both brains and ex- 
ecutive ability: Henry T., the eldest son, acted as 
Assistant-Postmaster during his father's term of 
office, and fills the same capacity with his suc- 
cessor, E. C. Tliorpe; Frank T. is occupied as a 
druggist and is a well-known member of the 
Knights of P3thias. 

The Ross family can trace its direct ancestry to 
the year 17.')6. The gi-andfathcr of the present 
family was born in Westficld, N. .1., in 1787, and 
there received his education and married Miss 
I>ydia Williams, whose father was a soldier in the 
Revolutionary War. Ezekiel Ross, the great- 
grandfather, was Ixirn in tlie same i)lace .as iiis son 
in 1756. He served seven years as a Revolution- 
ary soldier, and in his old age moved to the home 
of his son Amos, in Ohio, where he died in the 
year 184.5. Tlie Ross family liave I)een strict 
Presbyterians f<jr five generations, and those of 
the family who settled in Illinois can boast of be- 



ing Americans in the eighth degree. Stanch, true, 
sterling chaiiictcristics must ever be the result of 
so many generations of brave men and eminent 
citizens, and tlie members of this last generation 
iiave reason to be proud of tlie stock from which 
they sprang. 

The subject of this sketcli is a man of keen in- 
telligence, good business (jualifications and is capa- 
ble of conducting successfully any enterprise with 
whicii lie chooses to connect himself. A respected 
citizen, a true and loyal Rei)iiblican, a man of pro- 
gressive ideas and fine principles, he surel}' en- 
bodies the highest type of American citizenship. 






<| I^HJJAM WIEGHEFFE. Amongthe early 
\/sJf i^f'ttlcrs in Litchfield, 111., who came here 
W^ in 18,')5 and have witnessed the growth 
and development of the place with pride, may be 
mentioned the gentleman whose name opens this 
article. He is one of the natives of another land, 
who came here to enjoy free speech, free religion 
and free exercise of his inclinations, and has made 
his adopted country better than he found it. He 
was born February 13, 1828, in Hanover, (Germany, 
and reached the United States in 1851, when he at 
once came to the Prairie State. He located at first in 
Alton, and lived for a time in .Terse}' County, but 
in 1855 he made his way here, and secured a farm 
of one hundred and sixty acres. In the fall of 
1868 he moved to this town to engage in theplan- 
ing-mill and himber-yard business. Here he built 
a mill and started a lumber yard, but in 1877 he 
left the mill. Since that time he has given iiis 
undivided attention to the lumber business. This 
has been a very good one, because the building in 
this place and vicinity has been uninterrupted. 
Until l8!)l,Mr. Wiegreffe had a partner, but at 
that time he took his son in with him .■iiul made 
the business more comprehensive, lie now deals 
in sash, doors, blinds and building material, and 
is the oldest dealer in these things iu this localitj'. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOORAPIUCAL RECORD. 



407 



Twent.y-flve years is a long period to be in one 
line of business, but that is the time lliat Mr. 
Wiegreffe can lo<ik baclv over and note tlie won- 
derful clianges whieli ha\'e talii'n [ilace in his vi- 
cinity, and throughout tlie county and State. 

(_)ur sulijeet has been considered a man (.>f good 
business (lualifications and of good judgment, to 
vvliicli iiis fellow-citizens testified by making him 
Alderman of the Second Ward of the town for six 
yeais. lie is a man of property, and owns stock 
in the Litchfield Hotel Comi)any. lie is a promi- 
nent member of the Masonic fraternity an<l is de- 
voted to the interests of that order. 

The marriage of Mr. Wiegreffe took [ilace .lan- 
uai-y 17, isdi. to Miss Kva Sinn, and six children 
have been added to tlie household since that hajipy 
occasion. These are, Charlotte, who is the wife of 
]Mr. George P. Hood; Emma, who is the wife c)f 
Mr. AViUiain Cotter; Frederick; Augusta, who is 
the wife of Mr. August Aldos; Wilhelm and Matie. 

The great prosperity of our country interests all 
good citizens and none more than the industrious, 
frugal ones who have watched the growth of their 
surroundings from a wihlerness to a jieacefMl and 
pirosperous city, where education is encouraged 
and religion lioldsswuy. Sucli may be the feelings 
C)f our subject, as he now enjoys the plenty and 
content of a comfortable home and family and 
realizes that he has done his share in bringing 
aliout the present state of affairs. 



I ft;lLLIAM H. KOSEBROrtJH was born in 
\rJ// Perry County, Mo., .Ian nary 3, 1839, a son 
•JT^ of , lames and .lulia (I'itinan) Rosebrough, 
liotli natives of North Carolina. The family came 
to lioiid County, 111., und located on the farm 
where our subje(-t now lives. Ills mother died 
.soon aft,er her removal to this State, and while he 
was tof» young to realize the extent of the be- 
reavement caused by her death. A most singular 
incident w.as the death of his father, which oc- 
curred the day this old geiilleiuan completed his 



seventy-second year. The ancestors of the present 
liranch of the Hosebrough family were noted Aboli- 
tionists, and the father of our subje(-t took an ac- 
tive interest in the abolition of slavery. 

William II. Rosebrough w.as next to the young- 
est in the family of children, who were as follows: 
.\lmira, wife of Francis Dressor, a prominent 
farmer of Shoal Creek Township, ]5ond Count\-; 
l>nac Milton, who died at ^'.•^llev Falls, Kan., in 
1888; .lohii I)., who died at Keno. Ill; Sarah I)., 
the widow of S. Denny, who occui,)icd the position 
of County Clerk of P.ond County for twelve years; 
and Margaret E., who resides in (ireenville. 

()ur subject was brought u]) on a farm, and can 
tiutlifully recount the experiences of youths in 
the early days, when the subject of chores was a 
matter of discussion between the small boy fif the 
house and his elders. After receiving a good 
cominon-schoiil education, he dei'itled to follow in 
the footsteps of his father and became a tiller of 
the soil. 

In the fall of 18G2, our subject discovered in 
Jliss Louisa Hunt the womanly qualities he sought 
ill her who should be his companion through life, 
and, obtaining the consent of this lady to a life 
partnership, their wedding took place in the year 
18G"2,an<] during the time when the vital question 
decided by the Civil War was at issue. 

The wife of our subject was a native of London. 
England, and is a fine specimen of the broad- 
minded, intelligent Englishwoman, whose inter- 
ests are centered in her home and family. Mrs. 
Rosebrough has b()rne her husband four children. 
Nellie II., the eldest, is the wife of II. B. Harrison, 
a Congregational minister of Iiariiesville, Minn. 
Mrs. Harrison was educated at the college of North- 
field, Minn., at which institution she finished her 
education. Miss Sadie Hosebrough is now being 
educated at (ireeinilli' College; while Mabel, the 
yoiingest member of tlu! family, is attciidiug the 
public schools of her townshiii. 

Mr. Hoseiirough was an active Republican ele- 
ment in this community until the cause of tem- 
perance illiiNtrated to him the fact that a Prohibi- 
tion party had much to aceomplish f<.)r the good of 
the county, and several years ago he became a Pro- 
hibitionist. "Look not on the wine" Las been 



408 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



one (if the 11)1 it lues of his life, and he has not only 
lived tlie life of a temperate man liy e.^eliewing 
liquors, but lias carried out the precept and teach- 
ing of St. l^anl, and been temperate in all things. 
Our subject is a hearty and liberal supporter of 
the Presbyterian Church, in which body he holds 
the position of Deacon, and has been an industri- 
ous and efficient worker. It (annot be doubted 
that he has a conscientious regard for the religious 
office he assumes, and the responsibilities devolv- 
ing u|)on him are executed in an earnest and 
faithful siiirit. 



C^ 



"iK=?w>ICIIOLAS SINGER. Among the pronii- 
I ])] nent business men of Montgomery County, 
'^Jt^\ 111., who have attained to the highest 
round in the ladder of success, and are counted 
among its most worthy and honored citizens, may 
be mentioned Mr. Nicholas Singer. No name 
stands more properly [ilaced in the history of the 
county than his, for he is not only one of the 
most successful and popular business men, but is 
of such a social, genial nature, that he has made 
many friends. While a German and born of Ger- 
man parents, he hardly knows whether lie was 
born in (Jermany or in France. The facts are as 
follows: He was born in Lorraine, (ierman\-, March 
',), 1840, but just at the time the line had been 
drawn, so that his l)irlhplace was on the P^reiich 
side of tiie line. Therefore, while a German in 
every sense of the word, he was born on French 
soil, and under the laws that then governed 
France. 

His father, Nicholas Singer, Sr., was the owner 
of a small vineyard near his native town, and for 
forty years was a policeman for field and village, 
and was the first man to enter the army from his 
native village in the conllict against France. 
Tlie father is still living in his native land, .and in 
tlie village where lie has spent his long life, being 
now ninety-three years of age. For many years 



he has been on the retired list of ex-polieemen. 

The subject of this notice attended school until 
thirteen years of age in his native village, but 
lieingN^f^ progressive, enterprising temperament 
was not satisfied to settle down at Injiiie. lie 
wanted to see more of the world. At that ten- 
der age he took jjassage for America, and after 
touching United States soil began searching for 
employment. Later he found his way to Dubois 
County, Ind., and commenced learning the cooper's 
trade. 

Afterward he went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and 
there finished learning his trade, but the restive 
spirit again taking possession of him he went 
down to New Orleans, where he remained for 
some time. From there he went to Alexander, 
Tex., thence to Hamilton, Ohio, from there to 
man}- different places, and when twenty years of 
age this wandering but unusually precocious 
young man settled in Peoria, III., where he 
worked at his trade. He was a member of tlie 
Peoria Fire Company, as well as of the Peoria Rifle 
Company. In lfS(!2 he enlisucd to go to the war, 
but on account of a lame arm was rejected. After 
this he went to St. Josei)li, Mo., became foreman 
ill a pork-packing establishment, and made a trip 
for this firm to Pike's Peak and another to Den- 
ver. He remained in St. Joseph until Jul}- 13, 
1864, when he volunteered to go into the country 
to assist in routing the guerrillas. Later he went 
to Jersey City, lost what money he had m wild 
speculations, and tlien look to the Mississippi 
River, following rafting for a time. 

In August, 186(),af;er having been in nearly all 
the States east of the IJockies, he settled down to 
business in Nokomis, where he started a coojier 
shop. He prospered, in this, accumulated consid- 
erable money, and two years later engaged in 
the stock business in connection with his other 
business enterprises. In 1870 this wide-awake, 
thoroiigli-going business man started a [lork-jjaek- 
ing establislwnent, and in 1871 he was one of the 
organizers of the Nokomis National Lank, in 
which he is now a large stockholder and one of 
the Directors. Since he came to this city nearly 
everythiiig he h.as touclied has turned to money, 
and he is one of the substantial men of thecouut^'. 






O/n^yiX;) 



a>r 



POliTKAlT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



411 



111 1874 he made an extended trip to P^urope, vis- 
iting Oermany, France, Belgium, Italy, England. 
Ireland, Scotland, and other countries on the con- 
tinent. 

The original of this lujtiee was married in 
Nokomis, August 19, IS71, to Miss Mary A. Tuohy, 
a native of this eoiintry, but of Irish ancestry, 
and nine children have been horn to this union, 
eight of whom are now living: John A., Alice M., 
Herta R., Charles X., Mary (deceased), Catherine, 
Andrew .T., William W. and Arthur F. 



IS'" 



^-i 



lCS^ 



">IS— — 






m 



■if/AME.SN.CAl'LK. This Bio., kal'k.u, Ri.r,,i;i. 
of Bond County would he incomplete if 
within its pages a sketch of the above-named 
gentleman should fail toappear. Ilis stand- 
ing is high among the citizens of Heno and the 
surrounding country, and lie is deservedly respect- 
ed by those who are favored with his friendship. It 
is believed by all students of human nature that 
the ancestry and early training and surroundings 
of men exert such an intluence over their lives, 
that a knowledge of the former gives one a very 
good idea of what may be expected in the latter; 
therefore a few lines regarding the progenitors of 
our subject will not be amiss. Ilis parents were 
.lames V. and Sarah (Powers) Cavilk, natives res- 
pectively of Kentucky and North Carolina. The 
grandfather of our subject, .lacoh Caulk, scivcd in 
the Revolutionary War. 

In 1833 the father of our subject brought his 
family to Illinois, and settled in Macoupin County. 
Upon his arrival in this .State, he turned his atten- 
tion to agriculture, and soon became the po.ssessor 
of a well-improved farm on tlu; site of his first 
settlement. His family consisted of eleven chil- 
dren, six of whom are now living: \Villiain II, is 
now a resident of Lilclifield, this .State. Nersisus 
married James Coekendall, who served in the 
Mexican War, and departed this life several years 
ago. Mrs, Coekendall now makes her home with 
her son, wjio resides in Soreuto, Sarah J. is the 

19 



•wife of D. W. Henderson, a soldier in the late war 
who now resides in Missouri. Allen ]\I., now a res- 
ident of Nebraska, also served m the late war. 
Hardina, the widow of George llorris, makes her 
home at Mattoon, III. Our subject completes the 
famil\' circle, 

James N. Caulk was hovu October 25, 1825, 
near Nashville, Tenn. He was the third child in 
a family of eleven, and received but a limited 
educati(jn. Long before he [lassed the boundary 
line of cliildliood, and while the family were still 
residents of Macouiiin County, death bereaved 
him of his father. On the 12th of August, 1802, 
Mr. Caulk joiiKMl Coiiijiany I, One Hundred and 
Twenty-second Illinois Infantry, .as a private, and 
participated in many of the battles of the war, 
amf)ng them being Tu[ielo, Nashville, and the siege 
and capture of Ft. lUakeley. He was attached to the 
•Sixteenth Army Corps, under Gen, A, J, Smith, 
at LatJrange, Tenn., and while serving at the Last- 
mentioned place he became unfitted for active ser- 
vice liy a sunstroke which almost proved fatal. 

On the 15th of July, 1865. Mr. Caulk received 
his discharge, and in the fall of that year he lo- 
cated in Montgomery County, where he occupied 
himself as a farmer for six years. At the clf)se of 
the year 1871, our subject became imbued with a 
desiie to form a personal opinion of the possi- 
bilities afforded in the then comparatively new State 
of Kansas, and with this in view he lived there for 
one year. Not caring to coiilinui' his r<'sidence in 
the State, he returned t,o Illinois, and located in 
Uond ('(unity, where he reiii.aiiied until I.S71», At 
that lime he adv:inccd his prospects by moving to 
Iteno, where he bought a farm, and has since 
added U> his worldly po.ssessions in the building 
of several houses, which he rents. 

Our subject has been married twice. His jiresent 
wife bore the maiden name of .Mary .\iiii Ho.ss, 
and is a lady of line womanly tniits of character, 
who enjoys the loyal devotion of her friends and 
the respect <if her acquaintances, Mr, Caulk has 
six sons: Alexander, who was a soldier in the One 
Hundred and Twenty -second Illinois InfaiitiT, 
now resides in Montgomery County, III.; Abraham 
is a fariiKM' in Hoiid County; .lames F, lives in .Sor- 
euto; Williani H., a physician, lives in Ncbiaska; 



412 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Madison M. and Jacob H. reside in Dickinson 
Count)-, Kan. 

The Caulk family can certainl3' lay claim to re- 
cognition from their country as a family which 
has furnished soldiers to fight for the country's 
cause in three generations. No better proof of 
true Americanism can be furnished than that illus- 
trated by this family. The subject of our sketch 
is a Republican and a member of the Grand Army 
of the Republic. lie is a prominent and active mem- 
ber of the Baptist Church, and contributed liberally 
to its support. 



|li-^l"l^Si^#i#i 




ANIEL GRAFF. The subject of this 
sketch, a fine old German- American far- 
mer located in Central To\ynshi|), came 
to Bond County, 111., in 1841 with no 
means, but now possesses one hundred and eight 
acres of fine land and is the only fuie of the orig- 
inal settlers left in Central Township. A sketch 
of his life will prove interesting. 

Daniel Graff was l)orn in a province of Rhen- 
ish Bavaria July 22, 1821, and is the son of 
Peter Graff, a native of tlie .same place. Grand- 
father Casjiar (ii'aff was also a Bavarian, where 
he followed an agiicultural life and served under 
Napoleon in the Russian campaign. His death 
occurred in Gerniany wlicn he was about eighty- 
eight 3'ears of age. 

The father of our subject also became a farmer, 
but with (inly moderate success. He came to 
Ameiica in 18.")3, after which he made his home 
with our subject and died at the age of eighty-two 
years, a member of the Reformed Protestant 
Church. The mother of our subject was Mary 
Shire, a native of the same jiroviiu-e as her luis- 
Imnd. and she liecame the mother of li\e children, 
namely: Michael, Daniel, Ileiirv, Barbara and 
I'eter. Her life ended when she was only thirty- 
seven }"ears old. She had been a member of the 
Reformed Protestant Church and her remains now 
lie buried in Gern)any, The father of our subject 



contracted a second j^marriage, when Catherine 
Colter became his wife, and two children were 
born of this marriage, Frederica and Fred. 

Our subject w^as reared on the farm in Germany 
and attended excellent schools there until he w.as 
eighteen years of age. He then started for Amer- 
ica and after a tiresome voyage of sixty-one da3's 
on the Atlantic Oce.an, and ten days more before 
he landed at New Orleans, he was ready for his 
last stage of the journey and came up the Mis 
sissippi River to St. Louis. Leaving the city he 
went into .St. Clair County, but returned to St 
Louis, lemaining until the spring of 1841, when 
he entered forty acres of his present farm from 
the Government, and very soon bought more 
land, it being all wild at that time. The few 
log houses of the settlers were far apart, deer 
ran in droves aero.ss his farm, and wolves and 
turkeys were daily seen. The first act of our sub- 
ject was to erect a log cabin in the woods, and 
here he lived until 1849, when, having cleared up 
the most of his farm, he felt it to be a fit place 
to which to bring his bride. However, June 3, 
1846, he had enlisted in Company C, Third Illinois 
Regiment, and went to the Mexican War, where he 
served twelve months under Gen. Scott. He took 
part in the bombardment of Vera Cruz and the 
l)altle of Cerro Gordo, and was in many skirmishes. 
After he came home he was married, September 
25, 1849, to Miss Nancy McAdams, who was born 
December 5, 1831, in this township. Twelve chil- 
dren have been born to our subject and his wife, 
seven of whom are now living, namely: S3ivanus 
C., Lois C, Clara, Mary, Henry, Don and Vausie. 
Sylvanus C. married Lucy Durant and they live in 
this township; Lois C. married Clara Ilockett and 
they live in Mills Township; Clara married A. T. 
Porter and they live in Vandalia, 111.; ^Vlary mar- 
ried Edward Hriggs and they live in INIontgoinery 
County; Henry married LeuUa Hird and they live 
in Mills Township, this Cdunty. 

Mr. Graff now owns one hundred and eighty 
acres of improved land, and he has cleared almost 
all of it himself and has carried on both grain and 
stock-raising on it. His present comfortable resi- 
dence was erected in 1869 where he and his family 
reside, Our subject is a stanch supporter of the 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



413 



principles of Deinocraev. His wife is a devout 
member of tlic C'limlierland Presbyterian Cluircli. 
Mr. (iraff has served liis district as Scliooi Director 
acceiUably for nine years and has tai<en g'reat in- 
terest ill educational matters. He has not (jnly 
seen tiie growth of his own foi-tnnes, but has 
viewed witli s.-itisfaction the niarcli of ini|)rove- 
ment in tlie di.strict and county. Always read}' 
for any move which seemed to [iromise well for 
liLs neighliorhotid, .Mr. (iraff has nuide ti favorable 
ira|)ression on all with whom ho conies in contact. 



♦SH*= 




M. .STEWART. AiiKing the representa- 
tive and esteemed citizens of IMontgom- 
li eiy County. III., there is probably no one 
more deserving (jf mention than Mr. Stew- 
art, whose residence witiiiu its borciers has extended 
over a period of more than twenty-eight year.s. 
jNIr. Stewart was liorn in .leftersi.in County, Ohio, 
Jul}' 1, 1834, lieing the sixth of ten children born 
to .lames S. and Olive (^lartin) Stewart. Neoma, 
their eldest child, died after reaching womanhood; 
David died in IHo'i. on his way to ( )regon; (ieorge 
W. was for some thirty years a. iirosperous mer- 
chant, and was following that cailingat Xcw Cum- 
berland, W. Va., when lie died in 188r), leaving his 
family in comfortable circumstances; .Tames K. died 
when a child; Catherine also died in childhood; .1. 
W. is residing on the old homestead in .Jefferson 
County, Ohio, where his father first settled, and 
where he died in 187(1, the mother's death also oc- 
curring there alxiut 1884; Nanc.y A. is the wife of 
.John Mcintosh, a prominent farmer (if .Tefferson 
County. Ohio: l'',li/.abetli E. is the wifeof Davids. 
Day, who is a Hank President in the .State of Mis- 
souri; Rebecca X. is the widow of 15enjamin Piitch- 
ard, of Cleveland, Ohio, who died some year.s ago, 
leaving an ample fortune. 

.lames S. Stewart, the father of these chihlren, 
was born in County Derry, Ireland, about th(^ 
year 1785. the eldest of a family of four children. 



and as early as 1800 he emigrated to the rnited 
States with his father, .lames, and settled in Penn- 
sylvania, not far from the City of Brotherly Love. 
The elder Mr. Stewart was a man of scmic means and 
gave his son, .lames S., the advantages of a good 
education. Tlie latter was married in Pennsyl- 
vania, to Miss Oli\'e. the eldest daughter of (ieorge 
Martin, who was a native of that State, and a 
[irominent citizen of English extraction. With 
her, .lames removed to .h'fferson (Viunty, Oliio, 
.some time before tlie birth of A. i\I. Stewart, [iroli- 
ablv about 183(1. 

In the county of his liirtli, t>he boyhood d;i,ys of 
our subject were spent, and as his father was in 
moderate circumstances, he gave his son tiie ad- 
vantages of a very liberal education, com|)letiiig a 
common-school education in the academy of Wells- 
ville, Ohio, after which, for many years, he was en- 
gaged in teaciiing in llie pulilic schools of his native 
county. This occupation continued to receive his 
attention until his health broke down, and in 
March, 18()4, we lind him in .Montgomery County, 
111,, at which time he iiurchased the farm on which 
he is now residing, and where his home lias since 
been. 

In the month of A|)ril, 1871, he was united in 
marriage with Miss Eliza .lane Lea.se, a daughter of 
the late lamented and wealthy citizen of Nokomis, 
Leonard Lease, who w,-is also a native of ,Teffer.son 
County, Ohio, and upon who.se death !Mrs. .Stewart 
inherited a small fortune. She is a lady of great 
nobility of character, intelligent and refined, and 
is an earnest Christian. .She li.as borne her hus- 
band six cliildi'cn, as follows: .M;iry ( )live, who was 
educated at .Mmira College, at (ireenville. III.; 
.\iiiy Belle, who attendeil the Methodist Eemale 
College, of .lack.sonville. III., for some time, but, on 
account of ill-health, was compelled to leave that 
institution; ( ieorge L,, .lames Samuel, Charles "\Ves- 
lev and (irover Clevelanil, the two last iiameil still 
attending the public schools, Mr, .Stewart, like his 
father before him, is a strong Democrat, ;iiid was 
at one time a member of the County Pioard ol' Su- 
jiervisors, and at the present time is a member of 
the County Democratic Central (V)mmilt(^e. Ik- 
is an exemphiry member of the Christian Church, 
and is recognized as a citizen of worth and stand- 



414 



PORTRAIT AND lilOGRAPHlCAL RECORD. 



iiig. By liarrl work and goorl management, together 
with upright and honest dealing, he has amassed a 
goodly fortune, and in his pleasant home, sur- 
rounded by his family, he is enjoying the fruits of 
a well spent life. 



'^ 



RAN CIS TULLY, one of Montgomery 
County's most prominent citizens and 
wealthiest farmers and stoek-raisers. was 
born in County Cavan. Province of I'lster, Ireland, 
May 3, 1840. He isa son of Owen Tnlly and grand- 
son of Francis Tul ly , the latter at one time a wealthy 
farmer and land-holder of the beautiful Isle of 
Erin, but who lost all bis property during the 
famine in that land. Young Francis had the 
advantages of a fair education up to the age of 
fifteen years, at which lime the reverses with which 
his family met made it necessar\' for him to seek 
some employment. America seemed to offer a 
promising field to a young man of push and 
energy, and in order to better his financial condi- 
tion, he crossed the Atlantic to America in 18(54. 
and almost immediately made his way to Illinois. 
He was fortunate enough to secure employment 
with 'Sir. Penington, the great grain dealer and 
land-owner of Bunker Hill, but two years later he 
left that i)lace and came to Nokomis, where he 
worked on one of Mr. Penington's farms. 

In 18()9, Mr. Tully rented this farm and began 
to depend on his own judgment for the means of 
livelihood. So ably did he manage and so ear- 
nestly did he labor, that in 1872 he purchased the 
two hundred acres where he now lives, for which 
he was compelled to go in debt about $(500. He 
then bent all his energies to paying ofT this obliga- 
tion and it was not many years bef()re it was en- 
tirely liiiuidated and he was free to improve his 
fine property. He had the good judgment to real- 
ize that stock-raising was a profitable employment 
and has devoted many years to this branch of agri- 
culture, with the result thai; niiicli of his fortune 
has lieen made if) this way, Up jsjide jt a point to 



raise a good grade of animals, and as a consequence 
always found a ready sale for them at high prices. 
His farm is well adapted for the purposes to which 
it is devoted, having all modern conveniences, and 
his example in this respect has served as an im- 
pulse to others to follow him. It is perhaps un- 
necessary to add that he is recognized as a man of 
energy, progressive spirit, and clear perception, 
and he stands high in the estimation of those who 
know him. 

In addition to his two farms in this county-, Mr. 
Tully has landed interests in Kansas, which are 
now being managed by his brother John, he giving 
but little attention to them. Notwithstanding the 
fact that he came to this county a few ^ears ago a 
poor man, he has met with wonderful success in 
all tliat he has undertaken, as he fully deserved to 
do, for he has given strict attention to his business 
and has never infringed or encroached upon the 
rights of others. His parents came to this country 
in 1872, but the father died the year of their 
arrival, and his mother then kept house for him 
(as he has never married) until her death, which 
occurred on the 3d of .lanuaiv. 1892, at the age of 
seventy-six years. Mr. Tully was devoted to his 
mother and her loss was a great blow to him. She 
was a woman who possessed many noble attributes 
of heart and head, was kind, sympathetic and 
sincere, was a devoted member of the Catliolic 
Church and for many years " kept the faith." 

Our subject has two brothers: Philip, who is a 
farmer in Xokomis Township, and John, who mar- 
ried Sarah Dougherty and follows agricultural 
pursuits in Witt Townshi)). The sisters are: ^Mary, 
wife of P. S. 0"Donnell, of Audubon Township; 
Rosa, Mrs. Gust Dois, who lives in Nokomis; Mag- 
gie (deceased), formerly the wife of JMartin Mc- 
Lain, of Nokomis Township; Bridget, Mrs. George 
Bingham, who resides in Ottawa County, Kan.; 
Bessie, wife of Patrick Costelloe, of Edina, ]Mo.; 
and Ann, w'ho married George Wentz. now de- 
ceased. 

Mr. Tully has ever been a warm Democrat, has 
held many local offices and for twelve successive 
years was a member of the County Board of High- 
way Commissioners, acting fts jt.s Treasurer for a 
number of years. In 1890, his part^- brought liiu) 



PORTRAIT AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



417 



to the front for Sheriff of the county, but owing 
to a coniliination in tlie western part of the county 
he was defeated. In 1892, lie was again tendered 
the nomination but refused to accept it, altliougli 
lieartily appreciating tlie kindly motives tliat 
prompted liis friends ti.i thus honor him. lie is a 
whole-souled, warm-hearted and impulsive Irish- 
American, and has a host of warm friends. 



V ^ ffa >J > J > l I I 



?^ S. HUBBARD. 




a pronu 



ncnt and successful 



settler of section (5. ranks among the old 



inhabitants of this part of Bond County 

and resides in tlie township of I'le.asant M(.)und. 
He is a native of this State, having been born 
March 9, 1815, in Madison County, III. 

Till' father of our suliject bore the name of 
Peter Ilulibard and was born Feliruary 2;5, 1782, in 
(South Carolina. He was reared at his home until 
he reached the age of nineteen, when he became 
ambitious to see something of the world, and 
started out on a prospecting tour. When he 
reached Tennessee he was pleased with the coun- 
try and remained there four years, but about that 
time the jieople became impressed with the value 
of the rich lands to the nortliwest and he was 
among those who came to Illinois in 180!). Mr. 
Hubbard remaine(J a short time in IMonroe County, 
but the next year removed to Madison County, 
and in 1817 he came into Bond County ;ind took 
up about fifteen hundred acres of land. 

On this [ilace the father of our suliject remained 
until the close of his life, his death occurring at 
the age of eighty-seven years. He was one of the 
earliest settlers of the county, and held souio of 
the most important oflices, having been made 
County Commissioner and County Treasurer. In 
politics, he was a prominent Whig and was one of 
the largest land-holders in that part of the State. 
Mr. Hulibard was descended from Welsh ancestors, 
although Peter Hubbard, his father, was boi-n in 
South Cartilina, in 17.j(), and was a Revolutionary 
soldier. The mother of our subject was also a 



native of the Palmetto State, and her name was 
Martha (Tilliam. She was born in 171*2, reared in her 
native plai'c until eight years of age, and in ISOO 
came to .Madison County, I II., living to be sixty-two 
years old. She was married to Mr. Hubbard Feb- 
ruary II. I.S12. in St. Clair County, 111. Her 
father was Thomas (Jilliam. a native of South Car- 
olina, who with his four brothers was among the 
early settlers of Madison County. 

Mv. and Mrs. Hubbard were the parents of eight 
children, three daughters and live sons, and four 
of them .are still living. Our subject is the eldest 
.son and second child of the family. He was two 
years old when he came to Bond County, and his 
first recollection of school is of a log house, in 
(Greenville, with slab seats and dirt IIo(_>r and 
greased-paper windows. Some of the more aris- 
tocratic edilices had puncheon Moors and slick 
chimneys, and some had teachers whose knowledge 
did not much exceed that of the pupils. If his- 
tory tells the truth, some of those same school- 
houses were stages whereon were enacted scenes 
which, if accurately described, would often seem 
incredible. The many diolleries in the midst of 
unlicensed despotism are remembered with min- 
gled feelings of amusement, disgust and resent- 
ment. At the age of twenty-one, he took a course 
at the Jacksonville College, after which he re- 
turned home and remained until his marriage. 

The lady who became iMrs. Iliibbaril was a 
native of Virginia, tiorn May lit, 1821. Her name 
was Ann E. Saunders, and she became united to 
Mr. Ilubliard February 2, 18 1;?. When about 
seven years of age she was taken to I'eiinsylvania 
by her parents, and came to Illinois in ISlil). Im- 
mediately after their marriage, our subject located 
wiiere he now resides. He lia,d his house [lartly 
linished on the (lOvernment land which he took 
u|i ill l.S.'id. There were no improvenieiils what- 
ever on the jilace when he took charge of it, tnit 
he was very energetic and got out the timbers of 
the house and built it almost alone: and so thor- 
oughly was the work done that it has sheltered 
him and his growing family all these years. iSIr. 
and Mrs. Hubbard are the [i.arents of eight chil- 
dren, of whom three are daughters and live sons. 
They all grew to maturity with one exception, 



418 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Emma, who died at the age of twenty-one months. 
Tliose living are Lewis, who resides in Smithboro; 
.Tulian, wlio resides in Noitlieast Kansas; Lavinia 
l)ecaiiie the wife of .Tames E. McDowell and resides 
in Chicago; Henry A., who resides in Greenville; 
(George C, who resides in Ida Couut3% Iowa; 
Alfred C, who resides at home; and Mary .T., who 
became the wife of L. Armstrong, of Greenville. 

Our subject had at one time a farm of six hun- 
dred and fifty acres, but he has divided it with his 
children and has only retained one hundred and 
seventy- for himself. He has always been a strong 
Republican and voted in 18.36 for William II. Har- 
rison, and .again for him in 1840. Mr. Ilubliard 
has done surveying in the county, as Deputy un- 
der the County Surveyor, and has been Township 
Trustee and School Director. For many years he 
has been an important member of the Congrega- 
tional Church of Greenville, of which he is now 
Deacon and of which he has been Trustee. 



ellARLES W. SEYMOUR was born upon 
section 14, Hillsboro Township, Mont- 
gomery County, 111., July 28, 1829. He 
now resides one mile west of the town of Hills- 
boro on section 11, where he owns seven hun- 
dred and forty acres of land and employs about 
eighteen men making brick. 

The father of our subject, Wesley Seymour, may 
be ti'uthfully numbered among the very early 
pioneers of Illinois. He was born in South Caro- 
lina, in 1799. His father, William Seymour, pa- 
ternal grandfather of Charles W., was a native of 
the ICmerald Isle, and was born about forty miles 
from the sea. He was married to Miss Dixon, also 
of Ireland. The twain, leaving home and friends 
behind them, crossed the ocean and settled in 
South Carolina. Their first home in this coun- 
trj- was in Laurens C. H., S. C, but taking 
counsel together they set out for the Nortiiwest. 
Journeying slowly with teams, the}' crossed a long 



streteli of country, coming at last to the broad and 
almost unbroken prairie of Illinois. Xo canals or 
easy mode of travel greeted their eyes. Here and 
there they met creaking wagons toiling painfully 
on their lonely way. Miles apart they saw the 
cabins of the energetic liard\' pioneers, who gave 
them cordial greeting. At last the weary emi- 
grants reached Montgomery County, 111., but they 
onl3' remained there a short time, and then turned 
their faces toward Mississippi, in which State they 
passed the rest of their days. 

Charles Seymour's mother. Fiances Vaughn, it is 
sui)posed, was born in South Carolina in 1799. In 
that State she met and was married to Wesley Sey- 
mour. In 1825, the young couple, full of life and 
strength and energy, started on a long pilgrimage 
to Illinois, following almost the identical route 
William Seymour and his wife had traveled so 
long before. There were some changes, but as yet 
no railroads, and the unbroken prairie stretched 
itself before them for miles and miles. It is nearly 
sixty-five j'ears since the father of our subject 
took up a Government claim and built a little log 
cabin on section 14, in which humble home his 
children were born and reared. The sons of this 
liousehold were nine in number. There were no 
daughters. One child died in infancy, the others 
grew to man's estate, and tivu of the nine still sur- 
vive. The mother of this family died in 1854, 
but her husband long outlived her. He remained 
in Montgomery County until 1877, and then, hav- 
ing long since passed three-score years and ten, 
went to Columbus, Kan., where he died at the ad- 
vanced age of ninety-one years. 

Charles Seymour received his entire schooling in 
his native place. His first employment was at 
wagon-making and manufacturing brick. In 1854, 
our subject, in common with thousands of other 
seekers after gold, took the overland journey to 
California, the golden Eldorado of the West. He 
took the trail by the North Platte, and though his 
team of oxen weie strong and hardy cattle, their 
progress across the desert was so slow, that he was 
from March 27 to August 10 getting to the 
American Valley Mine of California. Mr. Sey- 
mour remained in the Golden State, mining and 
carpentering alternately, until November 21, 1859, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



419 



when he embarked for lionie, retiirniiioby water via 
Panama to New Ycirk and thence to Ilillsboro. 
In 1<S(J1. lie lioughl ten acres of land where lie 
now resides, and opened the brick-yard which he 
has run so profitably ever since. The ten acres 
have been increased to seven hundred and forty 
acres, all in Ilillsboro Township. 

About two 3'ears after his return, Mr. Seymour 
married INIiss Sarah .1. Killiiatrick. daughter of 
James and Helen Killpatrick. Mrs. Seymour, like 
her husband, is a natire of the town and was liorn 
February 10. IHU). Mr. and ilr.s. Seymour have 
had six children: Mary E., wife of J. W. Hook; 
Charles F. and Frederick H., deceased; Oeorge S., 
of Ilillsboro Townshii); Camilla .1. and Ethel are 
3'et with their parents. 

Aside from his brick liusincss, 3Ir. .Seymour is a 
most successful farmer and stock-raiser. Occupied 
as he has been for so man}' years with his own 
private business, our subject has yet found tine to 
devote to public affairs locai and national. He 
served faithfully six years as School Trustee, and 
it is to the conscientious efforts of such men as Mr. 
Se3MUO\ir the steady improvement in our public 
school system is due. Our subject attiliates with 
the Heiiublican [larty, but in local elections he 
votes for the best man. He is well known as a 
public-spirited citizen and is a Mason, a ineinlicr 
of Mt. Moriah Lodj^e No. 51, Hillsboro Town- 
ship. 



I>^l^<il 



(c T>^ 



iQy- 



rrjyENNETT F. (;REEN, D. D. S. a follower 
L>Cx of that profession which is pain "ivinw but 
healing, Dr. Green is a favorite in his call- 
ing in Nokomis. Magnetic in his nature, 
he soothes and allays the fear lliat one naturally 
feels in entering the ollice of a denii>t. lie was 
born at Vienna, Ontario, Canada, August (!, I<s.");3. 
His father was Isaac 15. (ireen. His mother's 
maiden name was Sarah Corn well. The Doctiir is 
the eldest of three children born to his parents and 
the onl}- one now living. His paternal great- 



grandsire was an Englishman, born and bred to all 
the traditions of English country life. He emi- 
grated to Canada about the year 1775. .lohii S. 
(ireen, the son of the former and the grandfather 
of our subject, was born about 1785, and Isaac 15. 
Green, our subjecfs immediate paternal ancestor. 
was born at Greenville, Canada, in 1817. 

Ts.a.ac 15. (ireen, who was of a mechanical turn of 
mind,becaiiie a mill owner in Canada in early life, 
but later he left milling and became a merchant, 
and for some reason which is not known to the 
writer, either social or resulting from the natural 
desire for change, the family removed to the States 
in 1858, locating first at Hunker Hill, III. Here our 
subject's father became interested in farming, but 
when, a year after coming here, the mother of the 
family was stricken with death, the new residence 
had lost its charms to the paternal liead and he 
sent his son back to Canad;i. 

On going b.-vck to his native pl:ice, the subject (if 
t-liis sketch, then a motherless child, w;is taken into 
the family of his grandparents, with whom he re- 
miiined for about two years, or until his father had 
contracted a seconil marriage. The boy then came 
back to Illinois, making his home with his father, 
and was occupied with farm duties and the acquir- 
ing of an education in the iniblic schools of the 
vicinity. 

Remaining under the [laterrial roof until he had 
reached his majority, Dr. Green early became con- 
versant with the moods of Nature, and learned 
many lessons therefrom that have been of inesti- 
mable value to him since. .After leaving home he 
went to Lilclilield, and entered the t)tlice of Dr. 
Barefoot, under whom he studied dental surgery. 
He prosecuted his studies in this line for four 
years, at the end of which time his preceptor con- 
sidered that he had thoroughly mastered his pro- 
fession. 

Ready to launch out in life for himself, m 1878 
young Dr. (Treen came to Nokoinis and o|)ened an 
otlice on his own account in his cliosen [irofession. 
Successful beyond his most sangnine expectations 
from the start, he soon l)uilt up a fine and lucra- 
tive business. He is one of the progressive men 
who endeavor to kee)) in toucli with every advance 
made, not only in the fields in which he is indi- 



420 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



vifliiall.y interested, but also in the broader avenue 
of the arts and sciences. 

November 4, 188(1, the gentleman of whom we 
write took upon himself the duties and obligations 
of married life, taking as his life partner Isabella 
Pruitt, a native of Gillespie, Macoupin County, 
tliis State, and the attractive daughter of a promi- 
nent farmer of Gillespie. Mr. and Mrs. Green are 
spending the midsummer of their lives in an ele- 
gant home and are surrounded by all the comforts 
that go to make modern living ideal compared with 
anything that has been known before. Three chil- 
dren comi)lete the picture of their domestic happi- 
ness. Their eldest daughter, Sarali Edna, is a child 
of ten summers, who promises to add perpetual 
sunshine to their home. Two sprigiitlj', go-ahead, 
mischievous boys are the remaining members of the 
family. 









' OHN HARTLEY is one of tlie prominent 
fruit-growers of the AYustern countr_y and is 
^_^, noted for the extensive knowleda'e he pos- 
>^^' sesses in this line. The biographer as well 
as the reader finds the life of a man vastly more 
interesting when its vicissitudes have been varied 
and the subject has proved liimself worthy of more 
than casual notice by the way in wliicli he has 
managed and conducted the years allotted to him 
for existence in this world. 

The name Hartley is well known in all parisli 
I'egisters in the counties of Yorksliire and 
Lancashire, England. There are many residents 
of Lancashire who can trace this name and their 
own lineage back to the time of Edward the Con- 
fessor, and historians give us data concerni;;g the 
bearers of this name wiiich allows them credit as 
bearing honors for soldierly daring while fighting 
in the army of Oliver Cromwell. 

.Tohn Hartley was born in Manchester, J>anca- 
shire, England, on the 4tli of March, 1838. His 
parents were both natives of England, his father 
being emplo^'cd in tiie cotton mills of Manchester. 



Richard Hartley, the grandfather of him whose life 
we are recording, received honorable mention as a 
soldier in the battle of "\Yaterloo. He served un- 
der the Duke of Wellington, and was a member of 
the troop that had the honor of taking Napoleon 
to headquarters as a prisoner. 

The spirit of emigration seized John Hartley 
very early in life, and a desire to see more of the 
world than tiie city of Blanchester embodied or 
was then contained in Great Britain influenced our 
subject to take his life into his own hands. At the 
early age of ten years, and without saying good- 
bye to home or parents, he started for the country 
so far distant, wiiich .as " tiie land of the free and 
the home of tlie luave." ' was perhaps vividly 
[MCtured in his childish imagination. It may be 
quite safe to assume that a ten-year-old boy, mak- 
ing Ins way from England to America in the year 
1848, had a wonderful amount of self reliance, and 
as this appears to have been the stock in trade of 
our subject, he is to be congratulated on the man- 
ner in which he mani[)ulated his capital. 

On his arrival in America, our subject got em- 
liloymenl on canal barges and river packets, and 
worked in tliis capacity until lie was twenty-one 
years old. In tlie year 185l(, he came to Bond 
County, 111., where he olitained employment as a 
farm hand, and by industry and thrift saved the 
money with which he purchased part of his jiresent 
belongings. He first commenced the cultivation 
of fruit in 18fil,and to s.ay that he has nade a 
success of his chosen line of work but faintly ex- 
presses the position he now finds himself placed in. 
Mr. Hartley has spared neither time, lalior, nor 
money to bring this industry to a point of excel- 
lence acliieved by but few. He now owns one of 
the iinest orchards in this part of the State, and is 
thoroughly posted in every detail pertaining to 
fruit culture. The Hartley orchard luiniliers some 
twenty-five hundred trees, and its product em- 
liodies the finest grafts known in the Western 
country. One of the latest achievements Ijy our 
subject was the raising of more than two thousand 
bushels of apples in the season of 181)2, while 
others engaged in the same line were unable to 
produce this fruit in any quantity whatever. The 
number of fruit-bearing trees in the Hartley 



I. 




0^/0^-^/^ 



yi/ 




f'^i.,<tJ^n^ly 



PORTRAIT AXD TJIOORAPHICAL RECORD. 



42;'! 



orchard at this writing is over one llidusand, 
and to our subject is accorded tlie credit lie so 
justly deserves for t)ie manner m which he con- 
ducts his Inisiness and |ironiotes an industry so 
fraught with care and hard work. 

In the year 18GI), Mr. Hartley and Miss Jane 
I'atton became man and w'ife, the result of their 
union being two children: Cordelia ICunice, who 
is now the wife of K. 'J'. .lai'vis, of Eltn Point, 111.; 
and Mary Emma, the wife of S. A. May, of Shoal 
Creek Township. Jlr. and Mrs. Hartley are l)oth 
prominently' identilied with the Southern Meth- 
odist Episcopal Churcli, which body recei\es their 
suii|iort in liberal measure. Our subject has never 
identified himself as an oHice-seeker with any poli- 
tical faction. During the late war he was a mem- 
ber of the " Knights of the Oohlen Circle."' 






(H 



\^^ 



NTON PHILLIPSEN, a prominent agri- 
culturist and leading citizen of ob) Kip- 
II' ley, is a native of Prussia, and was born 
(Q/J September 6, 1835. Arriving in America 

when but eighteen years of age, an honest, hard- 
working, faithful boy, he early appreciated the 
advantages he enjoyed as a resident of a Re- 
public, whose broad foundation was laid upon the 
principles of right and justice. AVhen the Civil 
War threatened to destroy our national existence, 
no native-born American citizen resiiondcd more 
quickly to the (iovernnient's appeal for aid than 
did our subject, who, entering the ranks as pri- 
vate, gave four years of devoted service to his 
adopted country, and for gallant coiubict upon 
the lield of battle received justly-dcscivcd promo- 
tion. 

Peter and Catherine Phillipsen, parents of our 
subject, thoroughly trained their son to habits of 
self-reliance, so that he was well lifted to begin 
the struggle of life for himself. He was the 
youngest in a famil\- of four children, three sons 
and one daughter. He received a good education 
in Prussia, and upon the well-improved farm 



of his father became an expert in agricultural 

duties. Shortly after the death (.if his father, he 
determined to join lii.s brother, Peter, who had 
emigrated to the United States some two years be- 
fore. In 18."i:!, bidding adieu to Ids mother and 
friends, lie crossed the Atlantic and, arriving 
safely on our shores, went directlv to Milwaukee, 
where he remained but a few months. Next 
locating in Chicago, he spent one year in that 
city. Afterward for a brief [loriod he resided 
in Peoria, and then journeyed to St. lyouis. 

Illinois was the final destination of Mr. Phillip- 
sen, and he settled at first in Madison County, but 
in 1858 he came to Ripley Township, Bond 
County, and worked upon a farm until August 
12, 1861, when he enlisted in Cfimpany D, Third 
Illinois Cavalry. 'I'liis gallant company of faith- 
ful soldiers was for a long time the body-guard of 
Gen. Steele. Mr. Philli|)seii was promoted first to 
C'or|)oral, then to Orderly-Sergeant, and May 31, 
1865, was made Commanding Eirst Lieutenant of 
Company E, with which his old coni|iany was con- 
solidated, December 111, 18(;;'i. He served until he 
was honorably discharged from the service at Et. 
Snelling, Minn., October 10, 1865. His company 
took part in all the sieges, battles, skirmishes and 
campaigns of the regiment, and accompanied the 
expedition to Dakota, which closed the term of 
his service. During the four years and more in 
which our subject served the Union luavely, he 
was never sick or absent from duty for a day, ex- 
cept when he had a furlough, at which time, in 
1864, he was married to Miss Henrietta, a daugh- 
ter of Charles Plog, one of the early pioneers of 
the county. This Iad_y died in 1876, leaving 
seven children, all of whom are now deceased. 

Mr. Phillipsen married his present wife, Mrs. 
Elizabeth (Worinbrongh) Wendt, a native of 
Switzerland, in 187(!. They have had a family of 
six cluldren, of wlioni but two now survive, Ella 
and Elizalietli, two bright and promising young 
maidens, now busily engaged in acipiiring an 
excellent education. Our subject has been a far- 
mer all his life, and has a linely iin|iroved farm 
near town, and a pleasant home in old Ripley vil- 
lage. The family is widely known, and has 
a large acquaintance and man}- warm friends in 



424 



PORTEAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tbe town and count}', wliieh has been tlie family 
residence ever since the marriage of our subject. 
Mr. Phillipsen is well posted in public and local 
affair.*. Although not an active politician, lie re- 
ceived the official position of County Commis- 
sioner, the duties of which public trust he 
discliarged in an energetic and efficient manner 
and with satisfaction to the community. Mr. 
Phillipsen affiliates with the Republican party, 
and is known as one of its strong suj^porters. 
lie is iuterested in educational progress, and 
upholds and advocates the uplifting of the masses 
to a higher plane of citizenship. 



/^^ AMUEL U. WELCH, a prominent farmer 
^^^ of Jlontgomery County, is located on sec- 
lv^l3 tion 11, Pitman Township, where he 
owns a fine farm. !iMr. Welch was horn in 
Muhlenburg County, Ky., September 11. ls;3;i, 
and is the son of Jesse and Sarali (Landers) Welch. 
The father of our subject was a native of Ken- 
tucky, and his ancestors were of Irish blood, while 
the mother was of (icrman descent. 

In Kentucky our subject was reared and tliere 
he gained his education, which was limited, as in 
those days comparatively little attention was paid 
to mental training. The log cabin w.ns a shelter, 
if not a very good one; the slab benches could rest 
weary little limbs; the big chimney could keep the 
temperature as near from freezing as it was in 
many of the pioneer homes; and the teacher could 
wield the lurch, which bo^'s of all ages were sup- 
posed to need. 

In the fall of 1851, Mr. Welch came to Illinois, 
and for several years worked on a farm, and 
earned about % 10 .a month. This was considered 
good wages and the young man, with no expen- 
sive habits and the hope of a home of liis own in 
tiie future, was able to save a great part of his 
earnings. His marriage took place August 26, 
1858, to Miss Arminda C. Orr, who was a native 



of Sangamon County, 111., and was bom December 
27, 1840. She was the daughter of Andrew and 
Honor (Rieger) Orr, natives respectively of Vir- 
ginia and Tennessee. Her parents were early set- 
tlers of Sangamon County, 111., to whicli place her 
father had come when a bov. They are deceased, 
but five of their children survive, namely: Eliza- 
beth, the wife of Marion Caliss; Newton, .Tames, 
Thomas, and the wife of our subject. 

To Mr. and Jlrs. Welch have been born eight 
children: Charles, Nora (deceased), William, Clif- 
ford, Benjamin; INIaggie, who became the wife of 
Oeorge Carroll; Samuel and Ettie. For many 
3'ears Mr. Welch was operating rented farms in 
Sangamon and Montgomery Counties, but in the 
spring of 1878 he came to Montgomery County, 
and, after renting for a time, bought a farm of one 
hundred and sixty acres under a good state of 
cultivation, upon which he has placed many im- 
provements. His position in politics is with the 
Democratic party, and he has taken some part in 
local affairs. For three years he has served .as 
Highway Commissioner of Pitman Township, and 
has favored all the improvements in the county. 

The Baptist Church finds in Mr. Welch and his 
good wife two most worthy members, and in the 
neighborhood they are held in high regard. There 
is pleasure in presenting people such as these as 
representatives of old Montgomery County. The 
pioneer days have gone by in this State, but the 
memories of those days should be cherished, and 
those who endured the heat and burden of the day 
should be remembered bj' those for whom so manj- 
sacrifices have been made. 



i^'i^i 



<ji^RNST JULIUS SEEFELDT. a jnominent 
|S) finfl wealthy German-American farmer of 
JL^ Bond County, is the subject of this notice. 
He is the owner of a fine place located on the mirth 
edge of Pocahontas, where his friends and ac- 
quaintances often enjoy his hospitality. 

The birth of Mr. Seefeldt took place in the vil- 



PORTRAIT ANT) l5I()(;RAPirCAL RECORD. 



425 



lage of Pji'itz, Pomerania, in Piussian-Geimaiiy, 
twenty miles iiortlieast iif the city of Ber- 
lin, April 24, 1821. Tiie father of our subject was 
Gotfreid Secfeldt, and at the same place as his 
son's birth occurred. Ily occupation he was a 
farmer, and then became a soldier under King' 
William III in the wars of his country with the 
French in the time of the great Napoleon. About 
four years of his life were spent in the service. 
He became a large farmer, and owned about two 
hundred and twenty acres of land in his native 
country-, and died ()<'tober 2, 1848, having been a 
member of the Lutheran Church. His wife was 
Mar}' Schultz, who was born in the same place, 
and she was tlie mother of seven boys, who 
were August, Carroll and William, deceased; Fritz 
Ernst, .Tulius, Ileury and (iustaf. The mother 
died when forty-seven years old, having lieen a 
member of the Lutheran Church. She was the 
daughter of Christian Schultz, a native of the 
same place, who was a farmer of moderate means, 
and who died in his native land at the age of 
eighty-two years. 

Our subject was reared on the farm of his father, 
and was sent to the nearest schools from his 
seventh to his fourteenth years, and then he went 
to learn the trade of a gunsmith, at which he re- 
mained for six or seven years, and then learned 
the machinist's trade. lie came to America in the 
spring of 1841), or, rather, he started in the spring, 
but it was .Inly beft)re he reached the United 
States, being thirty-foiu' d.ays on the ocean. His 
arrival in this country was during the prevalence 
of cholera, but fortunately he did not take the 
dread disease. Me landed in New York on the 
afternoon of .luly 10, 1849, and went to Wisconsin 
by wa3' of IMilwaukee, but at that time he could 
find no work. 

A stranger in a strange land, with the dilliculties 
of an unknown language to con tend with, our sul)- 
ject walked eighty miles until he reached a farm 
near Waukesha, where he obtained employment. 
Soon after this he found work he could do in a 
water, saw and grist mill, and was given §8 a 
month. How large that looked to him then! — much 
larger than a hundred dollars would appear now. 
From this place in the woods he went to Gutten- 



burg, Iowa, hut had found that in St. Louis he 
could obtain good wages at work in a foundry. 

This quiet young man had a romance m his life. 
Away back across tlu' ocean he had left a dear, 
flaxen-haired sweetheart, and as soon as he found 
that the new country would give him promise of a 
support so that he could make her liapi)y, he sent 
for her to come, and wh(U) she reached Waukesha, 
Sejjteniber 1.5, 1851, he was there to meet her, and 
they wei'e married. Her name was Wilhelmina 
JMiller. and her birth occurred in Prussia, .lanuarv 
4, 1825. She was the daughter of (iotleilj and 
Elizabeth (I'apka) Jlillei', both of whom were born 
in a Prussian province. Her father was a farmer 
on twenty acres of land, which w.as as much as the 
most of the farmers of his neighborhood owned. 
Blrs. Seefeldt was an only child. 

After marriage our subject settled in St. Louis 
and worked in a foundry for four years, and the 
name, which he remembers well, was the Eagle 
Foundry, lie left tlicre to move into Old Hiplcy 
Township, where he and his brother Henry, the 
only one of his family now in Americ.'i. bought a 
farm of one hundred and forty-five acres of piai- 
rie land, twenty of it in timber. There were no 
inii)rovements, but he built a log luuise, and thei'e 
began his _ agricultural life. The |)laco was very 
wild, great droves of deer often passing his home, 
l)ut he never hunted the innocent creatures. 'I'he 
wolves disturbed his sleep at night, and would 
have very seriously disturbed his cattle and stock 
if he had not protected them. He improved that 
farm and bought eighty-eight acres in tliis place, 
to which he moved in 1879, and has made exten- 
sive improvements. The house was here, but he 
has remodeled it, and has expended %! 1,8(10 In 
beautifying and cultivating. 

The land owned by our subject at the present 
time amounts to two hundred and fifty-nine acres, 
and upon it he has carried on a system of mixed 
farming, and handles considerable stock. He has 
the reputation among his neighbors of being a 
careful and successful farmer, and his judgment is 
considered of value in all agricultural matters. 
Five children have come into the [jleasant home 
of Mr. and Mrs. Seefeldt, and they are Ollie, 
Elizabeth, Caroline, Bertha and Augusta. They 



426 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



are members of the church of their parents, which 
is the Lutheran, and to tliis Mr. Seefeldt lias al- 
ways contiibuted according to his means. Wlien 
he first began to study the politics of this country, 
he decided that in the Republican part3' he could 
find those principles wliich siiould govern a free 
and independent people like the American race. 

Mr. Seefeldt is a man whose pleasant, genial 
nature makes him fiiends, and in all the relations 
of life he has borne himself as a kind husband and 
father and a true friend, as well as an iionest man 
of Inisine.ss. 



I^^i^g- 



I OC^si/C^^— '— \A \^ — '^^^^3.^si/C- 



eW. r.EARDSLEY. Those old residents of 
the town of Eitclifleld, 111., who came here 
to find a home in 1855, discovered that be- 
fore them had arrived some one anxious to cater 
to their needs and their fancies. A merchant was 
displaying his waies in a pioneer store, and one of 
his windows was filled with an atti'active collection 
of watches, clocks and llie various articles con- 
nected witli the jeweler's trade, which might be 
needed by tlie residents of a growing community. 
Tills window comprised tiie slock of 3Ir. Benjamin 
C. llenrdsley , who afterward became one of the best- 
known and most prominent among the old settlers 
of Litchfield. 

Benjamin C. Beardsley was born in 1820 at Venice, 
Cayuga County, N. Y., and his father died when lie 
was asmall boy. He and II. T. Beardsley were both 
taken by Nathan Tuttle, his uncle, a wealthy man, 
who offered to care for the boys and rear them. 
Benjamin was apprenticed to a watchmaker and 
learned the trade. He was in business in several 
places, at Cazenovia, N. Y., at Detroit and Adrian, 
iSIicli., and at the latter place lie was married. He 
then took a trip thrcjugh Kansas and finally decided 
to locate in tills place, which his far-seeing judg- 
ment perceived would one day be a flourishing 
town. His means were small and at that time lie 
was only .-ilile to fill one window of the only store, 
but in two years, in 1857, he built the house where 



his business is still continued. The location is No. 
36 State Street, and at that time his two-story house 
of brick was considered quite fine. He filled the 
store with a proper stock and continued in business, 
enlarging and changing as time went on, until the 
time of his death, in January, 1888. He was a 
prominent member of the Masonic fraternitj', and 
was Treasurer of St. Omer Commander_y. He had 
been bereaved of his wife some time before. His 
possessions in real estate were considerable, and he 
was a man respected b^^ all at the time of his death. 

C. W. Beardsley, the immediate subject of this 
sketch, was born February 15, 1855, in Bradford 
County, Pa., and was the son of H. T. and Mira 
(Fuller) Beardslej'. His father carried on a general 
merchandise trade but did not live to old age. His 
death occurred in Pennsylvania. 

Our subject was educated in 15radford County 
and finished in this place, where he had come at the 
age of thirteen years. He was apprenticed to his 
uncle Benjamin and continued with him for nine 
years. He then accepted a position on Cortland 
Street, New York City, and after a service there of 
three years he went back to his native town of 
Canton, Pa. Here he opened up a business and 
remained at it for four ^ears, but sold it at the ex- 
piration of that time and went into Tioga County 
and established the first jewelry house in Iloyts- 
vllle. He tiiere met the lady whom he later mar- 
ried. She was Miss Emma Dodd, the daughter of 
George L. Dodd, a prominent hardware merchant 
of tli.at town, and lier marriage occurred Sep- 
tember 4, 1884. Our subject became a prom- 
inent man in this place, was made Justice of 
the Peace and bought a large amount of land and 
platted it and dis|)Osed of it in the new town. 
Here he remained five years, but then changed lils 
residence to Elmira, N. Y., and went Into the same 
business that engaged him previously. He was 
doing well in that city, when he received a mes- 
sage from his uncle who had been almost a father 
to him. The old gentleman was 111 and desired our 
subject to come to him and take charge of the busi- 
ness which he had liullt up. He desired the old nsime 
to be jjcrpetualed. 'I'his was a summons tiiat one 
of the disposition of our subject could not with- 
stand, so he sold out his new block of buildings in 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



4-27 



the beautiful old city of Elmira. f1i>iin-iil of his 
business nnd removed In tliis place witli his family 
a few weelvs before tlie dcatii of liis uncle. He 
took charge and settled up the estate of his uncle, 
and the (lid gentleman's last days were full of 
peace as he realized that the hfinoralile okl name 
would not be forgotten in commerce in Jiis chosen 
home. 

Mr. Beardsley has Iniill a brick block which now 
is occupied by the Dailij Ncirs. and has built live 
dwelling-huust's here and has [lurchased a tine resi- 
dence. He was a member of the Board of Education 
for two terms and is the President of the Litchfield 
I'aint and Cnlor ('om|iany, which wa.- incorporated 
in November, 1891. ^Ir. and IMrs. Beardsle\- liave 
one child, who has been named for the kind uncle, 
and thus will not only the business, but also the 
name, of Benjamin Beardsley go down to another 
generation. 



r^ 



E*^* 



/p!^,ARRETT CARSTENS is one of the wide- 
(|[ (— ^ awake, energetjic and successful \oung busi- 
'>^^' ness men of Nokomis. He has made his 
own wa3' in life, and is in the enjoyment of a com- 
petency that is the result of his iinaided efforts. 
He is a member of the large grain and elevator 
house of .John Carstens iV Son. ;\n establishment 
well known throughout the county, the members 
of whicli are conceded to be honorable business 
men in every respect, (iarrett Carstens was born 
at .\lton, 111., .Tuly 8, lS(i:!, and is the eldest of 
five clulilren liorn to Hon. .lohn and .leanetto 
(Hughs) Carstens. The father, who is the head of 
the lirm, is a (German by liirth, and was born at 
Ilaltland, .March 22, 18;i7. He came to the United 
States in 1852, and for many years thereafter was 
engaged in coal-mining at Alton, 111. 

At the lirst call made by President Lincoln for 
troops in |8(')l,.Iohn Carstens tendered ids ser- 
vices, and was enrolled in Company K, of the Ninth 
illiuois Jufaiitry, Piu'in^^ Lis term of service, he was 



taken sick, and upon its expiration he returned to 
Ins business at Alton. In 1861, he organized what 
was known as the "Preachers' Company," it lieing 
largely made up of young ministers from Shurt- 
leff College, of Alton, and was known as Company 
I), of the One Ilundi'cd and Twenty-second Illi- 
nois Infantry. Of this company Mr. Carstens was 
made Cai)tain and served as such until the war 
closed. 

In LS(i8, .lohn Carstens came to Nokomis and en- 
g.'iged in the hardware an<l grain business, and has 
continuously followed that occupation up to the 
[iresent. Meanwhile he has become well known 
over a. lai'ge territoiy, and as ,a business man he 
has ever occupied a high position in the estima- 
tion of his fellow-citizens. In 1888, he was elected 
to the State Legislature on the Itepublican ticket 
and served until 18'.)(), making an able,active and 
intelligent legislator. He is one of the wealthiest 
business men and one of the foremost citizens of 
the town, is a prominent member of the (irand 
Army of the Bepublic, and the Independent Order 
Odd Fellows, ancl in all enterprises of a worthy 
nature his name is foremost on the list. His wife 
was of Scotch descent, her parents having been 
born in the "land of thistles and oatmeal." They 
became early settlers of Alton, 111., and in that 
city their daughter .leanette was born. 

In the public schools of Nokomis, (iarrett Car- 
stens was educated, and after graduating from the 
High School heentered the .Tones Cominercial Col- 
lege, of St. Louis, in I8S2, and soon after com- 
jileting his education he took an extended trip 
thi-ough Europe with his father, visiting England, 
Ireland, Scotland, Oerniany, Switzei'land, France 
and Italy. After his return from this trip, he ac- 
cepted a [losition in a wholesale establishment in 
St. Loins as liook-kee|ier, and there remained until 
1881, when he became the junior memliei' of the 
gr;un house of .lohn Carstens .t- Son. 

For five years Mr. Carstens was the City Treas- 
urer of Nokomis. In 18!)(l, he w;is elected a mcm- 
l)er of the County Board of Supervisors, and so 
satisfactory were his services in this capacity that 
he was re-elected in 181(2 for anothej- term of two 
years. Like his honored father, he is a usefid, 
progressive aud public-spirited citizen, alive to llie 



428 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



interests of this section and ever ready to aid any 
worthy cause. Miss Aunie L. H.ilcomb, who was 
born at Waterloo, III., became his wife in 1885. 
She is the youngest of seven daughters liorn to 
A. J. Halcomb, now a resident of Nokomis. Mr. 
Carstens is a member of the Sons of Veterans and 
belongs to the Kniglits of Pythias and the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and is a member of 
the Orand Lodge of these two societies. He is a 
strong Republican and is a general favorite in so- 
cial as well as business and political circles. 



&>2^ 



~^i * 



^EY. W. H. GROXEK. In the study of the 
careers of those who have been the archi- 
tects of their fortunes in tlie various depart- 
ments of business or professional life, there 
may often be encountered suggestions of inesti- 
mable value to those who are just starting out in 
life for themselves. The men whom we are ac- 
customed to call self-made are well represented 
in Litehfield, where many of their number are 
carving for themselves monuments that will out- 
last gilded shafts or marble statues. Among this 
class prominent mention belongs to the gentleman 
with whose name we introduce this sketch, and 
who is widelv known and highly esteemed as a 
minister in the Christian Church. For a i)eriod 
covering twenty-one years he has held the p.astor- 
ates at Ridgely, Round Prairie, Boston Cliapel 
and -Vtwater, whore his labors have been rewarded 
witii abundant success. In aildition to his min- 
isterial work, he has for five years serxed effici- 
ently as Assessor for North Litchfield Township. 
Born in North Litchfield Township Octolier 17, 
1842, our subject is the son of T. C. G. and INIary 
(Wood) Grouer. His father settled in this part 
of Illinois as early as 1838, and, entering land 
soon after his arrival, entered upon the career of 
a farmer. His home is located in North Litch- 
field Township, where he still resides at the ad- 
vanced age of seventy -.seven years. He can re- 
count some thnlliug experiences of California lifu 



in the early '50s, for about that time he became 
imbued with the desire to go West, and spent 
five years in the gold diggings of California. He 
is a pioneer in the Christian Church, and is an 
earnest follower of its doctrines. His three sons 
and five daughters have all reached years of ma- 
turity, and he is now enjoying his declining 
years, surrounded by long-time friends and his 
children. 

Our subject enlisted in Company A, Ninety- 
first Illinois Infantry, August 11, 1862. After 
being stationed at a number of Southern points, 
he reached Elizabethtown, Ky., on the 27tli 
of December, of the i^ame year, where he was 
taken prisoner, placed on parole and soon after 
exchanged. He served thiee full years and re- 
ceived his discharge at the close of the war. After 
returning home, he spent .<ome time in a select 
school and one year in Blackburn Theological 
Seminary. Soon after leaving school, he com- 
menced teaching (which profession he still follows) 
and fitting himself for the ministry'. He was or- 
dained in February-, 1868. 

Mr. Groner is eminently fitted for his chosen 
vocation in life, for he is a man of versatile tal- 
ents and energetic temperament. During the 
twenty-four years in which he has been identified 
with the Ciiristian Church .as a minister, his career 
has been markedly successful, and this success has 
been brought about by his close study and ex- 
traordinary capacity for work. Few men could 
have proved eijual to the strain lirouglit to bear 
upon him from the multiplicity of labors he 
undertook and accomplished so thoroughly. He 
has for many rears had four charges, and some- 
times preached three sermons in one d,iy. He is 
a member of the Knight* of Pythias and S. B. 
Phillips Post, (4. A. K.. occupying the position of 
Chaplain of the [)osl. He was first elected As- 
sessor of North Litchfield Township in 188,"). In 
1881, he was elected Assessor of Raymond Town- 
ship, where he was at that time living. 

When prepared to establish home ties of his 
own, our subject was united in marriage with 
Miss .\manda C.,a daughter .John S, and Elizabeth 
Rol)erts, and a friend of his boyhood, they hav- 
ing been reared on adjoining farms. Their mai'- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFXORD. 



429 



riage occurred >. \.iii .1 24, 1868, and they arc 
now the parents of two children, ^Minnie L. and 
Bertie. During alt the labors of Mr. (Jroner for 
the past twenty-four years he has lieen nobly as- 
sisted by his wife, who has (iroved herself a tire- 
less and efficient worker in the vineyard of the 
blaster. Her kind words and gracious manner 
have endeared her to hosts (jf friends, and her 
name is known for many a mile on account of 
the sweetness of her disposition and the nobility 
of her character. Our sul)jecl has always identi- 
fied himself with the cause of education and has 
served on the School Board, beside occupying the 
position of Commissioner of Public Works for 
four or five terms. 



ACOB D. ROYER. a member of an old- 
settled family of the county, and a promi- 
nent and extensive farmer and also a 
veteran of the late war. resides near Dud- 
lej'ville. Bond County. 111. He has here a farm of 
two hundred and thirty-two acres and is a suc- 
cessful grain farmer and stock-raiser. 

Our subject was born in Greenville, this county, 
November 18. 1838, and is the son of Daniel 
Royer. who came from a (German familv of that 
name which had settled over a large section in 
Pennsylvania. IJy occupation. Daniel Rover was 
a farmer and shoemaker, who came at an early 
day in the lii.-tory of the county and settled near 
Greenville; later to the southeast of it he en- 
tered Government land. The journey to this lo- 
cation was a long and toilsome one over the 
mountains in wagons, and when he came and set- 
tled on his ])lace the log cabin had yet to be built. 
Willing hands make light work, and with a will 
he cleared his land and worked at odd times at 
his trade, and when tiie Black Hawk War came on 
and men were recjuired. he was one of those who 
went to light the savages. His services were also 
given in the Mexican War. 

Mr, Rover had several farms and had some land 



warrants which he placed near Greenville. At 
that time deer and wolves were numerous, prairie 
chickens flew in clouds, wild turkeys ran through 
the brush, and the tinibei- land was full of the 
nests of the wild honey bees. The death of Mr. 
Rover took place when he was about fifty-two years 
old. and he died in the faith of Calvin. His po- 
litical adherence had been with the Democratic 
party. The mother of our subject was !Marv 
Cockburn, who was I)orn in South Carolina, al- 
though the marriage of the parents of our sub- 
ject took place in Tennessee. .She was the be- 
loved mother of ten children, although only six 
of these grew to manhood and womanhood. These 
were: William. John. Jacob. Edward, Pleasant 
and Sarah. This worthy mother died when al)out 
seventy years old. 

Our subject was reared here and attended the 
log schoolhouse nearest his home, which in those 
days was called a subscription school. When 
twenty years of age, ilr. Rover began for him- 
self, going out to the neighbors to work by 
the day. When the call came for troops, in the 
year 1861, he was one of those who came forward 
without delay, and joined Company F, Seventh 
Missouri Infantry, and was mustered into the 
service at the Arsenal at St. Louis. He saw ser- 
vice through ^lissouri. Kansas. Tennessee. Missis- 
sippi and Louisiana, and was in the battle of 
Vicksburg. and towards the close of the war he 
was appointed on detached duty, and was mus- 
tered out at St. Louis in June, 1864. He now re- 
ceives a pension of ^6 a month. 

The marriage of Mr. Rover took place in 186.5. 
to Miss Elizalieth Mt'Cullag. who was born in 
Bond County, 111., and they have now a familv 
of one girl and seven boys, as follows: Alden. 
.Sarah Ollie, Louis, (iefnge. Leslie, Emery. Arthur 
and Harry. Clowren is deceased. Our subject 
settled where he now lives in 1867. and at that 
lime the place wa< entirely unimproved. He 
bought eighty acres and built a log house, but 
now he has two hundred and thirty-two acres, 
and all of this is improved witli the exception of 
twenty acres. lie raises great crops of grain and 
numbers of cattle, horses and sheep. Both he and 
his wife are highly respected members of the Free 



430 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Methodist cleiiomination. In liis jjolitical lu'lief, 
Mr. Rover is a Republican, and ii|ilu)Ids tlie opin- 
ions of his party with vigor. His family is one 
of tlie best in the agricultural section of tlie State. 



■^ AMES R. SEYJIOUR, a popular young phy- 
sician of Raymond, was born in Montgom- 
ery County, on the 22nd of September, 1859. 
^^^ We do not know much concerning the early 
history of the Seymour family, but the grand- 
father, Weslej' Seymour, was a native of South 
Carolina and was of Irish extraction. His son, 
William Dixon Seymour, the father of our subject, 
was born in South Carolina, in 1823, and with his 
parents emigrated to Montgomery County, 111., in 
1827, the family locating on Government land near 
Hillsboro, where William spent the remainder of 
his life. He mariied Elizabeth A. Christian, a na- 
tive of Kentuclcy. She also went to Montgomery 
County with her parents, locating tliere in the pio- 
neer days. The Doctor's father was a man of fine 
education and at one time was Superintendent of 
the schools of his county. His wife died in Hills- 
boro in March, 1892. Both were prominent and 
iiighly respected citizens. Their family numbered 
eight children. 

The Doctor was the fifth in order of birth. 
He was born and reared on his father's farm and 
was educated in the Hillsboro Academy. At the 
age of nineteen we find him a teacher in the \n\b- 
lic schools, and he followed that profession for two 
years, during which time he began the study of 
medicine in the office of Dr. McLean, of Hillsboro. 
He determined to make the practice of medicine 
his life work, and to lit himself to that enrl, in the 
fall of 1881 he entered the Eclectic Medical In- 
stitute of Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he was 
graduated in 1883. Immediately afterward he 
formed a partnership and embarked in the practice 
of his cliosen profession in Murphysborougli. this 
State, lie afterward practiced iu Reno, lioud 



County, and in March, 1888, in company with his 
brother, William L. Seymour, he purchased the 
drug store in Raymond, which they still own and 
carry on under the firm name of Seymour Brothers. 
The Doctor has also continued the (iractice of med- 
icine with marked success. 

Dr. Seymour has been twice married. On the 
17th of February, 1892, was celebrated his last 
union, Mrs. Ida Tilden, a widow, becoming his 
wife. She is the daughter of William Bolles, 
a prominent citizen of this county'. In social cir- 
cles this worthy couple rank high, and their circle 
of friends throughout the community is indeed 
large. 

The Doctor is a leading member of the Modern 
Woodmen and is examiner for his camp. In pol- 
itics, he is a strong Republican, and takes quite an 
active part in |)olitical affairs. In 1890, he was 
elected Ma\or of Raymond, re-elected iu 1891, and 
the position was again offered to iiim in 1892, but 
he declined the honor of serving for a third term. 
His skill and ability as a medical practitioner are 
well recognized, and a liberal patronage which he 
well deserves has crowned his efforts. 






M>^^<m- 



RANK (^ROSENHEIDER, an extensive 

Yi farmer of South Litchfield Townshii), Mont- 
/*5j goniery County, was born in the kingdom 

of Prussia in 1843. His father, IIenr3- Grosen- 
heider, died when he was but live years old, and 
thus he was early m life thrown ujjon his own re- 
sources, without the aid of a father's counsel and 
sym|iathy. He was one of eight children, four of 
whom were sons and four daughters. Of these, the 
following survive: Frank, Heniy, Ilarman ; Min- 
nie, a widow, residing in Macoupin County ; Annie, 
the wife of Ilarman Polman.of Macoupin County; 
and Laura, the widow of William Claytanip, of 
South Litchfield Township. 

In his native land our subject attended school 
until he was fourteen years of age, at which time, 
iu l»j7, he emigrated tu Aiuerwa »»cl settled ia 



.-sr^'i 




^.^^ 



&.Ag_ 



J-^-n^n^y^VnA,. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIUCAL RECORD. 



433 



IMontyomeiw County, where he obtained work on 
.1 farm at .a salary of ^'T per month. The first 850 
that he earned he sent back to tlie Ohl Country to 
bring his mother across the ocean. Slie spent her 
last years here and died in I87B, at the aji'e of 
seventy-three years. ()nr subject was married in 
18G3 to Miss Lizzie Ernst, who was a native of the 
.same county as himself. About the time of his 
marriage he imrchased his lirst i>ighty acres of laiid 
(which are now included in his present large fai'm), 
and to the original purchase he added from time 
to time as opportunity was given him, until he 
now owns three hundred and twenty acres, all un- 
der a high state of cultivation. He has embellished 
the i)lace with line buildings, and has there all the 
modern improvements of a nK)del farm. 

Mr. and Sirs. (Irosenheider ai-e the (jarents cif 
eight children, as follows: Minnie, the wifeof .lohn 
Prongie, a farmer in this locality; August, who 
assists his father on the home farm, and is an en- 
ergetic and p<ipiilar young man; Emma, Mrs. 
Henry Eickmire, who died m the spring of 1892; 
AVilliam, Annie, Soplia, Erankie and Alvina, who 
are at home, and are receiving good educations. In 
politics, Mr. (irosenhcider is a IJeiiublican, and for 
many years served as Road Commissicmer. also 
lilled the position of School Director for seven 
years. He and hisfamil\' are members of the Luth- 
eran Church, in which they are .active workers. 






LREU C. DENNY. Elsewhere in this vol- 
ume ni.ay be found a sketch of J\L'. E. W. 
^^' Denny, a brother of our sul.iject, and ineoi- 
porated in that is an outline (if the family histiir\'. 
There is, however.so wide a divergence in the in- 
dividual histories of the two men, that the reader 
will tind no inonotony in tlu' reproduction which 
we shall attempt to make of the life story of the 
gentleman whose name is quoted above. He is a 
farmer li\ iug near Soreiito. and, as a veteran of 
the late war, h:is a special claim upon the atten- 
tion of all loyal and ))atriotic citizens. He is a 

20 



son of James E. .and Mary 1'. (White) Denny, a 
furtlier notice of whom is given in the sketch 
above mentioned. ^Iv. Denny was born on the 
pilace where he now resides, Apiril 30, 1830. Tlie 
educational advantages of the day were not very 
liberal, and the young mind had to seize upon 
what it could get for its mental growth. 

When but twenty-two years of age, our subject 
went to Wisconsin, and his open, frank counte- 
nance commended him to the conlidence of 
Samuel ]\Ioore,one <if the most prominent business 
men of Prattville, Crant County. With him ho 
remained for seven years, and during that time he 
was married to iMiss I\Iary Ellen Snowden, an Eng- 
lish woman, their nuptials being solemnized in No- 
vemlier, 1851). 

Soon after marriage, the young couple went to 
Muscoda, Wis., where onr subject was engaged in 
the sawmill Itusiness. and there he received the 
first news of the breaking out of the war. Au- 
gust '.*, 18(;i, he enlisted in Company A, of the 
Thirty-third Wisctinsin Infantry. Although j<-)in- 
ing the ranks as a private, he was soon breveted 
Orderly-Sergeant, afterward was made Second 
Lieutenant, and after the battle of N'icksiiurg his 
gallantry was rewarded by a commission .as ]<^irst 
Lieutenant. Eorsometime he was in command of 
his company, and for a year and a-half served .as 
Regimental (^inartermaster, and as such was mus- 
tered out August !t, 18(;j. During his three years 
of service, he took i)art in many of the large bat- 
tles, enduring manfully and heroically all the 
hardships of war. He followed I'rice through 
Missouri, and was on the Red River and White 
River expedition. His joy at the fall of A'icks- 
burg was that of a patriot. His regiment was en- 
gaged during a long time in destroying railroads 
and on guard duty. 

While in service, news came to our sul>ject that 
his wife had dropjied dead from heart disease. 
Some time after this, there was a little romance 
that relieve<l the nionotdiiy of his army life, and 
that is worth relating. While at Tuskegee, Ala., 
Mr. Denny formed the .ac(iuaintance of Annie E. 
Wade, the cnltiired daughter of an extensive 
slaveholder and planter, and a relative of the 
noted Hen Wade. They became enamored with 



434 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



each other. It is useless to say that the Southern 

]ilanter did not look with pleasure upon theatten- 
tioni' paid liis favorite daughter bv the Union sol- 
dier; lint love bi'ooks no opposition, and after the 
war the young lady came Ts'ortli, joined INIr. Denny 
at Cairo, III., where they were married August 3, 
1866. She has ever since shown herself to be of 
the same metal that prompted her to give u|)luxur_v 
and affluence for the sake of the man she loved. 
She is now the shining light of his home, and is 
considered the ijueen not only c^f the home circle 
hut of the social life in the community in which 
they live. 

After this marriage, Jlr. Denny was engaged for 
some time in the drug business in Iowa, but finally 
returned to Wisconsin, where he remained until 
after the death of his mother in 1883. He then 
returned to his childhood's home, and, purchasing 
the equities of the other heirs, became sole owner 
of the homestead. The old place, which re- 
sounded in time past to the fun and merriment of 
a prior generation, is now gladdened by the pres- 
ence of two bright children: Carney Laslie, a boy 
of ten years, who was born March 5. 1883, and 
Oliver Clinton, who will be six j'ears old January 
11,1893. Mr. Denny is a strong' Rei>ublican in 
his political affiliations. His army associations are 
kept green in memory by his membership with the 
(irand Army of the Republic. Fraternally, he 
is a member of the Odd Fellows. 




E^'. WILLI \M .]. YOUNG. This honorable 
and upright citizen, now residing in Don- 
\\\ nellson. III., is a native of the Blue Gi-ass 
'^@' State, born in Allen County, December 12, 
1830, and is a descendant of a prominent Virginia 
family. His father, .lames I). Young, was a native 
of the Old Dominion, born in New Kent County, 
.\ugust 9, 1809, and when four years of age was 
taken to Kentucky by his half-sister. There he 
grew to mature years and all his earliest recollec- 
tions were of that State, IJe was aiarned there 



I on the 13th of August, 1828, to Miss Eleanor 
Harrison, a native of Kentucky, where she was 
reared, and in that State the youngcouple located. 

i Tliei'e Mrs. Young's death occurred when about 
thirty-seven years of age. In that State, Mr. 
Young remained until April 1, 18)9, when he 
came to Montgomery County, 111., locating in 
ICast Fork Township, and there resided for nine- 
teen years, engaged as a tiller of the soil. 

Later, he moved to ^Missouri, and resided there 
f(n- about twenty-four years, when he received his 
final summons, dying in 1888. He was married 
four times and was the father of twenty children. 
His last wife had four children when he married 
her. Our subject was the second in order of birth 
of the eleven children born to his father's first un- 
ion, and was in his nineteenth year when he came 
to ^lontgomery County. He received his scholastic 
training in his native State and remained with his 
father until twenty-one years of .age, when he 
branched out for himself .as a hand on a farm. 
About 1853, he went to Ilillsboro and carried on 
a livery stable for Robert W. Davis, a noted man 
of that county, who was Clerk of the Circuit Court 
for two terms. He c(nitinue<l in business for him 
until 18,54, when he returned to his native State 
on a visit. 

There Mr. Young was married, on the 27th of 
December, 1864, to Miss Dorcas II. Hinton, and 
the fruits of this union were four childien: Lou A., 
the wife of .John W. Edwards, of East Fork Town- 
ship; Normandy D., the wife of James E. Price, of 
East Fork Township; Robert W., also of East Fork 
Township; and Laura T., wife of Dr. J. C. Wilson, 
of Donnellson. The mother of these children passed 
away on the loth of November, 1888. After his 
marriage, our subject returned to Montgoraer}"^ 
County, 111. This was on the 8th of March, 1855, 
and he settled on a farm one mile northeast of 
Donnellson. The farm of forty acres he entered 
from the Government, and he took his bride to a 
small log liouse, 16x15 feet. There all his children 
were born with the exception of Laura T. 

Mr. Young began the improvement of his farm, 
soon had it under a good state of cultivation, and 
there remained until Scpteinber 1, 1890, when he 
moved to Donnellson and rt'ticed from tUe activg 



PORTRAIT AND BlOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



435 



duties of life. He was a Democrat in his political 
alliliations fi'om 185!) until about eiglit years ago, 
when he voted for St. .Tohn. He is a strong tem- 
perance man and is deeply interested in the tem- 
perance movement. His first office was .lustiee of 
llic Peace in l.SfiO, and lie lu'ld that position for 
twelve years. He was llieu made Notary Public 
and is discharging the duties of that jiosition at 
the present time. 

On the 'Jth of .July, 1884. lie was licensed to 
preach in the JNIethodist Episcopal C'hurch and was 
ordained in j\Iay, lS,S!),liy jiisiinii liowmaii, the 
oldest liishop in the church, lie now has charge 
of a church and takes a dee]) intei'cst in the noble 
work. ^Ir. Young has always been a strict business 
man and has been administrator and has settled 
many estates. He has an excel lent knowledge of 
law, having studied the same, and is a man of 
more than average ability. He was a member of 
the Masonic frateinity for fourteen yeais. Mr. 
Young was married the .second tunc on the 25th 
f)f .Tune, 1890, to Miss Frances R. Sidener, of Ram- 
sey, 111. Our suliject has a veiy pleasant and com- 
fortable home and is one of the county's most re- 
spected citizens. 



^U OIIN FOGLEMAN,a prominent and wealthy 
farmer of Soutii Litchfield Township, resid- 
ing on section 2.3, was l)orn on section 1, 
') Walshville Township, on Easter Sunday, 
April 11, 1819, and was rocked in a hickor3'-l)ark 
cradle. He has tlie honor of being the first white 
child born in that townshi]). His ])arenls were 
Melehar and Elizabeth (Misenhamer) Fogleman. 
both of whom were natives of Nortii Carolina and 
of German descent, the ancestors coming from the 
Fatherland to tliis country in early Colonial days 
and locating in Pennsylvania. In 1814, Melehar 
Folgeman with his family emigrated to Indiana, 
and on the Gtli of .June, 1818, he cast in his lot with 
the pioneer settlers of Montgomery- County, 111., 



locating on the farm where John was born. A 
few years afterward, he erected the first mill built 
in the county, and for many nules around it was 
known as the Pepper Mill. This he continued to 
(jperate until his death, which occurred February 
II), 1827, after whit-li it was carried on by the fam- 
ily until about the year 18i;i. The mother died 
April 27, 1850. This worthy (couple were the pa- 
rents of seven children, but only two are liv- 
ing: .John, who was the fourth in order of birth; 
and .Joel M., who resides three miles north of 
Litchfield. The family has been well represented 
in the wars of this country. The maternal grand- 
father of our subject was a Revolutionary hero, 
and served in the Mexicnu War; his In-other Israel 
fought in the Llack Hawk War, and his brother 
.loel and his son Israel I'utnam served for three 
yeai-s as a member of the Niiiety-tirst Illinois In- 
fantry during the Civil War: the latter died June 
29, 1892. 

Mr. Fogleman, whose name heads this record, 
was reared to manhood amid the wild scenes of 
frontier life. He aided in the labors of the farm and 
also worked in a mill until after his father's death. 
A fair estate was left by the father, so that the 
mother was able to give her children good educa- 
tional advantages. Aftei- attainiiig to years of 
maturity, our subject was married on the 19th of 
April, 1840, to ]Miss Elizabeth Kirkland, a native 
of Tennessee, whose pai-ents came to Montgomery 
County in an early day — 1829. Mr. Fogleman 
and his wife began their domestic life in a lo"- 
cabin upon the farm wliei-e he yet resides. 
Unto them were born ten children, but onlv thefol- 
lowing are living: Daniel M., a resident of Litch- 
field; and Francis ,AI., who opi-rates a ])art of his 
father's farm; a grandson, ('harles E., who is afflicted 
with the rheumatism, i-eniains at home with his 
grandl'ather. The mother of tins family died Oc- 
tober 15, 1887, and Mr. Fogleman was again mar- 
ried, (Jctober 18,1888, his second union being with 
Mrs. Margaret (liriggs) Lay, who was bcn'u No- 
vember 22, 1822, in Montgomery C«uint\-. 

Our subject has been a prominent citizen of the 
community, and is well and favoraldy known. In 
1860. he was elected Sheriff of the county on the 
Deiiiocratic ticket, t»)d his popularity is shown by 



436 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the fact that he ran ahead i>f the Douglas ticket 
(iiie hundred votes. Me acceptably served one 
term and has tilled other local offices with credit 
to himself and satisfaction to his constituents. 
For many years he was a member of the School 
lioard and was long its Treasurer. Public- 
spirited and progressive, he takes an active inter- 
est in all that pertains to the welfare of the com- 
munity and the advancement of those enterprises 
calculated to prove of public benedt. 



i^+^P= 



IRAM MOREY, one of the old .settlers of 
'^ jll Mulberry Grove, 111., resides on section 36, 
in this township, and is regarded as one of 
'jj the prominent men of the place. He w.is 
I)orn in Licking County, Ohio, .Tuly 3, 1818, and 
is a typical native of the Piuckeye .State. The 
father was David ]More\-, who was boi-n in 1793, 
near Rutland, Vt., and when he had attained 
years of maturity he started Westward. At that 
time Ohio was a wilderness and those who came 
from New England were regarded by the old 
lesidents there as very brave people. Mi-. Morey 
came direct to Licking County, (_)hio, .and re- 
mained there, where he married. llis father, 
Joseph Morey, was a native of Aermont and 
was descended from iMiglish and Welsh ancestors. 
This combination of two sturdy races has always 
been regarded as a very happy one for the de- 
scendants. The m()ther of our subject was Harriet 
Reynolds, who vvas born .Tuly 29, 1797, uc^ar New 
Haven, Vt., and came to Ohio at an early day, 
her p.'irents having joined fifteen other families 
iuid made the trip to that State. The settlement 
of this party was made at GrandviUe, Licking 
County, and at this place tiie father and mother 
of our subject were married and lived there until 
1826. 

At this time it seemed desirable to make a 
change, and Mr. Morey removed his family to 
Knox County, wiiere in the course of time he 
died, in his sevent^-lifth year, having been noted 



for his integrity and sterling honesty, which qual- 
ities were fostered during his early life among the 
hills of Vermont. The mother of our subject 
only lived to the age of fifty years, but her mem- 
ory is still tenderly treasured. Mr. and Mrs. 
Morey were the parents of ten children, two 
daughters and eight sons, all of whom grew to 
manhood and womanhood, respected members of 
the communities in which tlie^' lived, and where 
they reared families of their own. Only five of 
tliese children are now living, and of the original 
familj' tlie ]Mr. Morey of this sketch is the second 
son and second child. Our suliject was reared in 
Licking and Knox Counties until 1841, when he 
came to Bond County, 111., in search of the prov- 
erbial fortune which is always a little farther AVest. 
He found employment in the agricultural regions 
of Illinois, and in 1845 he was married to Eliza .1. 
lirown, of Fa3'ette County, III., who left at her 
death ten children, whose names are as follows: 
Sarah; Thomas Perry; Dorcas, deceased; Eliza- 
beth A., deceased; Harriet; Henrietta; Celestia E., 
deceased; Laura Bell; AnJtta J. and Orrin M. 

Mr. Morey selected for his second wife Mrs. 
Nancy (Baker) Davis, the widow of William J. 
Davis. The lirst marriage of Mrs. Morey was with 
William Ileston and the four children of that 
marriage are, Sarah. Emma, James and George. 
Her second husband was William J. Davis, and the 
six children of that marriage were Fr.ank and 
Albert, twins; Rosa B.; James; ]Marion,and one 
who died in infancy. Mr. Morey located on 
his present farm immediately after his marriage 
in 1845 and began housekeeping in a log cabin, 
16x16 feet, but built the house where he now lives 
in 1857, which is very comfortable and commodi- 
ous and in whicii he conducted a hotel for about 
ten years. His means were very limited when he 
reached Illinois .and he gladly accepted 18 a 
month for anything tiiat he could get to do, 
and agreed to take half that sum out in cornmeal. 
.\t one time he drove cows to St. Louis and sold 
them for -S6 a head and sheep for $1.50 a head. 
He learned the wagon-making trade and when 
he came to Mulberry Grove he opened up 
the first shop of that kind in the town ,'ind contin- 
ued at that business for a jieriod of thirty-live 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



437 



3'cars. His present farm consists of two hundred 

and fifty-five acres, wliicli he rents. At one time 
he owned four liundred acres, but he disposed of 
part and does not care to work im tlie other 
part. 

Since tlie war INIr. Morey has been a Republican 
and l)elieves thoroughly in the i)riuciples of that 
party. For the last flfty years he has been ;i mem- 
ber of the Methodist Elpiscopal Church. .Ml his 
long life he has been a liard-working man and 
richly deserves the success which has come lo him 
in his old age. 






K. DAY. The endorsement ul his feilow- 
citizens is an earnest (if the esteem in which 
t; our suliject is held in the city of Raymond, 
Montgomery County, 111., where he is M.ayor and 
an extensive manufacturer. He was Ixirn in Ma- 
rion County, Ind., October 22, IHlTi, and was the 
ninth of ten children born to Joseph N. and Ellen 
(Riley) Day, of whose early ancestry little can be 
■learned; Imt it is known that the maternal grand- 
father (if (iiir suliject was born in Pennsyl- 
vania, and had Irish ancestors, and that the 
latter nuisl have emigrated to America in the did 
Colonial days. This grandfather was one (if the 
pioneers of Marion County, Ind., where the iiKither 
of our subject was born, spent her entire life and 
finally died, in lM8(i. Our subject's Grandfather 
Day was bdin in Ohio, but at an early day lucated 
on (iovernment land, about twelve miles from In- 
dianapolis, where the father of our subject was 
born and still lives. Of the ten chihiren bdin to 
.Joseph jS. Day and wife, five boys and live girls, 
three brotiiers and two sisters are living, and all 
have remained in their native State except our 
subject and a brother living at I'^ast St. Louis. 

Our subject grew up on his father's farm, re- 
ceiving a limited education; still it was all that 
the public school afforded. At the outbreak of 
the war, although a mere lad, he fairly burned to 
enter the army. His father olijectcd because of 



his youth, but promised that he might be a soldier 
if the war lasted until he was eighteen. Not a 
day did our young hero wait beyond the time 
fixed by his father; for on Octolier 23, 18G3, twen- 
ty-four houi's after lie was eighteen, we find his 
name on the rolls of the One Hundred and Twen- 
ty-fifth Indiana Infantry, which was organized 
intd the Ninth Indiana Cavalry. He was sent to 
Tennessee and did duty in that State and in Ala- 
liania until Se))tember 2."i. lisdl. He was taken 
prisoner in the last-nanuMl State by Forrest's 
troops and thrown into a prison at Caliaba, Ala., 
where he endured great suffering and deprivation 
of food, horrible accounts of which he gives, 
and was held there until the close of the 
war. After his release he was transferred up 
the INIississippi River in the lioat that iilewupnear 
Vicksburg, and fourteen hundred and fiftj' out of 
twenty-one hundred of his comrades lost their 
lives. Our subject was badly scahh'd, and in this 
condition clung to a fioating log for some hours, 
until succor arrived. Taken thence to Indianap- 
olis, he was discharged in M.ay, 1865. He then 
went into the wagon-making business at Oak- 
landon, Ind., continuing in it for two years. 

Mr Day then went lo Carliii ville. 111., where he 
worked at his trade for four years, and then spent 
one year in travel through the West. He afterward 
came to Raymond and established himself in the 
carriage manufacturing business, the town then 
having just lieen hicated. His building was one 
of the first erected and he has since been a most 
iiniioitant factor in the building; up (if the now 
prosperous city, of which he was the lii-st M.ayor, 
serving at that time for two years; he was again 
elected in the spring of IS'.I2, being in the high 
tide of popular favor. Polities have not spoiled 
Mr. Day for business; on the contrary, he is a 
thorough man of business and is one of the largest 
manufacturers of carriages and buggies in this 
section of the State. Mr. Day was married in 
1872 to Mi.ss Susan Peak, a native of Kentucky, 
who came to Macouiiin County in her childhood 
with her parents. 'Phis union +ias been blessed 
with five children, namel\-: lilanehe, Carrie, 31a- 
bel, Susan and Ruth. Mr. Day is an active and 
well-kiuiwn member of the Masonic brotherhodd. 



438 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



He adheres strongly to the Presbyterian Church, 
in which he holds membership. In politics he is 
a Democrat, and is also a stanch friend of the tem- 
perance cause. A kind husband and father, a 
pros[)erous business man, a popular and highly- 
prized citizen, he is a most fortunate person, and 
more, he is extremely happy in his family. 



/ 



♦^•i-^* 



EROY F. WOOD, the senior member of the 
firm of Wood k Stansifer, who carry on the 

largest and most reliable and successful 

real-estate business in the city of LitcliHeld, 111., is 
the gentleman whose sketch we present to the 
readers of the Rkcohp. 

Mr. Wood was born in North Litchfield Town- 
ship, January 2.'(, 1841, and was a son of John 
Wood, who was born east of Knoxville, Knox 
County, Tenn. The latter, with his father, Ben nett 
Wood, came to this State and county in 1828, and 
settled in Xorth Litchfield Township, and was 
one of the very earliest settlers there. His near- 
est neighbor was three and one-half miles away, and 
in this lonely place he lived until his death. He 
was a devout man, a minister of the Bai)tist Cliureh, 
and one of those brave, good men who sacrificed 
every comfort and ambition in life to assist and 
console others. There were few then to comfort 
the sick with spiritual consolation, to perform the 
marriages or to give Christian burial to the dead. 
The deprivations which these good men went 
through have always seemed to the writer to be the 
most pathetic portions of the pioneer's life. 

The father of our subject grew to his majority 
here, and so few were his advantages that it was 
not until he had become the husband of a bright 
and ambitious wife that he learned to read. Our 
readers will readily recall the President of the 
United States who was similar!}' taught after his 
marriage. John AVood became aminister, as his 
fatlier had been before him, and before his deatL 
there were few passages in the New Testament that 



he could not readily recall. He lived and died on 
the old place, never leaving it except to answer 
some call of duty. The farm of which we speak is 
still in the family and consists of two hundred 
acres. The mother of our subject was Jliss Eliza- 
beth AVilliams, who came hereabout the same time 
as did her husband, from Tennessee, and who was 
born May 4, 1825. 

Ml-, and ]Mrs. Wood settled about two miles from 
the old place and she has seen it change from a 
wilderness to the comfortable home it now is. To 
them were born twelve children, seven of whom 
survive: Nancy E. became the wife of I^li Bewley 
and now resides in California. Rachel S. became 
the wife of John E. Morrison and lives in Bates 
County, Mo. Martha JM. lives in Cheyenne 
Fannie married William jNIcCurley and resides in 
Springfield. William S. is located on the home- 
stead. Thomas H. is a contractor and builder in 
Raymond. The death of John Wood took place 
March 3, 1883, when the good man passed away 
regretted by all. 

Our subject enjoyed the advantages offered by 
the common schools of his locality, and at an early 
age he married ]Mrs. Lurany E. Ward, of his town- 
ship. He engaged in farming after the marriage, 
which took place February 25, 1858, and continued 
at that until the breaking out of the war. Then 
he felt the necessity for all good men and true to 
enter the army and suppress the rebellion. Au- 
gust 11, 1862, he enlisted in Company A, Ninety- 
first Illinois Infantry, and was sent to the south- 
west dei)arlment and served until June 20, 18(55, 
wlicn lie was discharged on account of wounds re- 
ceived at Spanish Fort, in Alabama, having seen 
nearl}' three j'ears of hard service, almost all of 
Ibe time being at the front. He was once taken 
prisoner, December 27, 18()2, at Eliziibcllitown, but 
was paroled and exchanged Julj- 4, 1863. He re- 
entered the active service and was through the 
Louisiana and Texas campaigns. 

After his return from the war, our subject went 
into fanning, and then worked as a cariienter, but 
his wounds kept him reminded that his active days 
were over. He went into town then, and first en- 
gaged in the insurance business, and was twice 
made Assistant Supervisor of the township and for 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



439 



one term served as Justice of the Peace. All this 
time he was overlooking his biLsincss, and later 
entered with Mr. Stansifer in the real-estate bus- 
iness. Togellier tliev plaited a portion of land 
and called it the Wood A: Stansifer Addition 
to ],itchfield, and this is in the southwestern 
part i)f the city. The tirm is interested in real 
estate, and also represents thirteen leading in- 
surance eomi)anies and does business both home 
and abroad. The home and eastern capitali>ts 
deal with them in the loan associations. 

Our subject is a member of the (Jrand Army of 
the lve|niblic and also of the Ancient Free ik 
Accepted Masons, in both of which organizations 
he is regarded with the lespectand affection his life 
has made |)ossible. II is domestic relations are 
most pleasant and his wife still lives and reign."; 
over his home, where five children have been 
added to liis family. The eldest, S.irali, became 
the wife of .1. II. Roberts, of this townshi]), one of 
the old pioneers, and her four children areClempn, 
Bennett, Minnie ami Lul.'i. The second was K. F., 
who lives in M<.)lierly, Mo. Hetta became tlie wife 
of Richard Coffe}' and has one child, .lohn II. and 
.lessie A. are at home. The Christian Church is 
the one to which this family belongs, and in which 
they are regarded with esteem and respect. The 
life of Mr. Wo<.id has been very successful as a 
businessman and as a soldier and this Kiocomi does 
not do justice to one of the really important men 
of Litchfield. 



«^ 



=fe> 



\f^j OBERT C. .lORDAN. In the subject of this 
'^^ notice we have onei>f the most prosperous 
<ii \\\ and successful men in Litchfield, and the 
^@j fact that he commenced life with a small 
capital speaks well for his subsecpient career of 
penseverance, industry and good manag(Miient. 

The term self-made may be most |)roperl_y ap- 
plied to Jlr. Jordan, who is now recognized as a 
leading uien-antile spirit in this community. Mr. 
Jordan was liorn in Richview, I II., August .31, 



186;!. Ilis parents were E. I>. .lordan and Mary 
( I lobbs) Jordan. E.B.Jordan, the father of our 
sultject, was a well-known harness-maker of this 
city, and his mother was a daughter of 'I'lionias 
Ilobbs, one of the oldest and most respected citi- 
zens in the community. Robert C. .lordan re- 
ceived his education in Sparta, 111., and, after 
learning the trade of harness-maker, worked with 
his father for ten years. In 1880, he opened a 
shop for himself in Litclilielil, and. after conducting 
tiie same successfully for six years, branched into 
the livery business, in which enterpri.se he has met 
with good fortune, and to-day owns the largest 
livery in the city. Although (juite a young man, 
our suljject has by practical industry, hard w(M'k 
and native foresight already accumulated the 
foundation of a large fortune, and, beside his 
business enterprise and the capital invested there, 
has a snug little sum out at interest, .siiict at- 
tention to business is his watchword, and the suc- 
cess already met with has but increased his desire 
to .accomplish more and better results eic, he can 
reach the goal of his ambitions. 

The wife of our siiliject. to whom he has been 
married some years, was befoie marriage i\Iiss Kate 
Byers,of Litchfield, a most estimable lady and very 
popidar in the community in wliich she has spent 
her life. 

jNIr. Jordan has .always identified himself with 
the interests of the town, and is one of the most 
active membei's of the Fire Department. .Socially, 
he is a memlier of the Knights of Pythias. 

It would be hard to find a man with whom an hour 
can be more pleas.antly spent than with the above- 
named gentleman. It is always a pleasures to the 
biograi)hical wi'iler to record the success (jf a man 
who, beginning life for himself with but small 
means, has reached a substantial |)0sition as the 
owner of a good liusiness est.ablishment, from 
wliich he derives a comfortable and assured 
income. 

Mr. Jordan is ;i systematic man, as a visit to his 
place of liusiness indicati's to the le.ast observing 
eye. In the few years which lie has been engaged 
in the livery business here, hi' has built up an ex- 
cellent trade and a line reputation as an honor- 
able business iiian and reli.-ible citizen. He is of 



- 440 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



that genial aurt coinpaniablc temperament which 
has drawn around liim liosts of friends, and in his 
business transactions evinces rare executive ability 
and good judgment, wliicli talents will eventually 
make him a man of marked and independent Dnan- 
cial standing. 



^ ' ■! ! iL^^^e^^f*^^^ 



\T AMES G. BUCHANAN. The subject of the 
presentsketch isa prosperous and intelligent 
farmer of Pitman Township, Montgomery 
J County. He was born in Belmont Count}", 
Ohio, November 12, 1848, and has been a resi- 
dent of this State since 1869. He was reared and 
educated in the public schools of his native county, 
but considers the knowledge that he acquired there 
quite meagre compared with that which he has ob- 
tained on his journeying through life since then. 
His parents were William and Mary (.Johnson) 
Buchanan, and the former was a native of Penn- 
sylvania, while his mother came from one of the 
well-known families of Ohio. She still lives there, 
enjoying a comfortable old age, but his father has 
been deceased for some years. 

In his native county, James grew to manhood, 
and there he remained until he had attained 
his majority. Then with the ardor and ambition 
of youth, he decided to move farther West, and 
the rich lands of Jcrse}' Count}- first attracted 
him. He remained where he first settled in 1869 
for several years, working at his chosen occupa- 
tion, and then was induced to come into Mont- 
gomery County, and has never regretted the step. 
Here he found all of the favorable conditions upon 
which a farmer depends for success, and decided 
to remain. His first labor was upon land for some 
other party, but he finally bought his present farm 
and settled upon it some years ago. He was pos- 
sessed of no means when he came here, and has 
made, by his own efforts, all of the monej' required 
for the purchase of the eight}' acres of his present 
place. 

The marriage of our subject took place October 



6, 1886, when he made Miss Anne Stevens his 
wife. This lady is the daughter of Riley and 
Charlotte Stevens, who are residents of BoisD'Arc 
Township, Montgomery County. One child has 
been born to Mr. and Mrs. Buchanan, Ray, who 
came into the world December 12, 1887. Should 
he grow up into tlie strength of manliood, a future 
record may show him to be as worthy and ener- 
getic a man as his father, altiiough his advantages 
will, in all [jrobability, be much better than those 
of his father. 

Notwithstanding his bearing the name of one of 
tiic distinguished Democratic Presidents of this 
great Republic, our subject is a stanch Republican in 
his politics, and has been one of the most enterpris- 
ing men of this section in the advancement of the 
count}- improvements. His farm is one of the best 
tilled in the neighborhood, and his orchards, build- 
ings and fine cattle show that ho has been success- 
ful in his ei^deavors. The county of Montgomery 
lias many self-made men, and that is the reason 
that it is regarded m the State as one of the most 
solid commercial counties of the Commonwealth. 
There is a firm basis of honesty and industry iq)on 
which men of this kind have built, and it has told 
upon every branch of business in the State. 



aONRAD WELLAR, a successful farmer 
and iiiahly respected citizen of Harvcl 
' Township, Montgomery County, is a strik- 
ing example of the success in life always won by 
the honest, hard-working emigrants who come to 
this country to make their homes and fortunes. 
Our subject was born in Argenmesen, Hanover, 
Germany, December 16, 1842, and is the son of 
Henry and Elizabeth Wellar, both natives of Ger- 
many. This worthy couple were reared and mar- 
ried in the Fatherland, and were content to spend 
their entire life among the friends and neighbors of 
early youth. 

Conrad, the son, belonged to a more progress- 



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ss^^isas^sa 



rfe^^iS^a^5ii^':afM'^ife£^aa.ga^W^^^^^^8^@J^ife>sa-iiSa^^g^^ 



RESIDENCE OF J. G. BUCHANAN^ SEC. 3., PITMAN TR, MONTGOMERY CO.^ILL. 




RESIDENCE OF CONRAD WELLAR^5EC. 19. , HARVEL TR, MONTGOMERY CO , 1 LL , 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



443 



ive fige. He liad received a fair pduratiou in the 
home schools, and it was his ambition to rise in 
the world, to become a landiioldei-, and oc.eii|)y a 
higlier position in life. Tidings of success came 
from tlie far-cilT I'nited States; America was tiie 
land of |)r<imise. and iiitlierour s\il)ject resolved to 
come at the earliest o|iportunity. Hnwever. he re- 
mained with his parents until he arrived at man's 
estate. Reared in a frugal (lerman household, 
early taught lessons of honest self-reliance, and ac- 
customed from childhood to do his share of labor, 
he was well fitted to become a true American cit- 
izen. 

In 1864, full of hope and confidence in t!ie fu- 
ture, iilr. Wellar bade his ]i!irents and friends good- 
bye, and taking [)absage on a steamer at iiremen 
was soon on his way to the New World. Among 
his fellow-passengers was a goodly numbpr of his 
countrymen, and in their society the time p.assed 
swiftly away. In thirteen days the uneventful 
vo^'age across the Atlantic was ended, and our sub- 
ject landed, a stranger in a strange land. He did 
not tarry long in New York City, but, advised by 
others, went almost directly to St. Louis, which was 
at that time the liead(piarters for the vast inlhix 
of emigration. 

Not knowing at lirst where he might obtain the 
employment to which he was best adapted, Mr. 
Wellar remained in St. Louis a short time; then, 
having been informed of work in the farming dis- 
trict of Illinois, came to Blontgomery County. Kx- 
pericnccd farming hands were in great demand, 
and Mr. Wellar readily obtained a situation. lie 
did his work faithfully and well, and giving great 
satisfaction to his emploj'er, remained four years 
in his service. He received 120 per month during 
the busy season, and in the winter from $16 to $18. 
Reared to frugal habits, his wants were few, and he 
carefully laid by each month a modest sum for fu- 
ture investment. 

I'lowing, sowing, reaping, caring for stock, and 
the general work of the farm gave ]\Ir. Wellar but 
few hours of leisure, but he made some ac(|uaiiit- 
ances, mostly among his own countrymen. From 
the family of one of the oldest German settlers in 
that ()ortion of the State he selected his wife. Mrs. 
AVellar was born in (iermanv October "ill, 184(1. 



She is the daughter of Henry and Anne M. ^Vucll- 
erpfenning, and emigrated to this country with- 
her parents when she was only five years old. They 
settled in Madison County at an early day. Their 
home was a little log cabin in the woods, and the 
hard-working father industriously cultivated the 
forty acres of ground wliidi surrounded it. When 
i\lrs. Wellar was nineteen years of age she removed 
with her parents to Ilarvel Township, Montgom- 
ery County. Her father died there, but her mother 
passed awaj' at Edwardsville. Tlie living children 
of this worthy couple are two in number, Jlrs. 
Elizabeth Wellar, and Christopli. Mr. AVucher- 
erpfenning left |)roperly in Raymond, anil eighty 
acres of land in Raymond Townsliip. 

By a former niarri.age, to Aiitone Munsterinann, 
Mrs. AVellar has live living ehihlren, John, An- 
nie M., .Mary E., Came M. and Louisa. Mr. and Mrs. 
Wellar have live children, JMinnie, Henry, Joseph, 
Elizal)eth and Rosa. These sons and daughters are 
intelligent young |)eople. and have i)rofitcd bv the 
advantages obtainable in the community. The 
members of the family arc identified with the same 
church to which their ancestors belonged, and are 
constant attendants at the Roman Catholic Church. 
Mr. Wellar is not a i)olitici;in, but he is an ardent 
Democrat and votes that ticket. He h.as enjoyed 
many prosperous years in this country, and now 
owns a valualile estate of two hundred and fort\- 
acres in the home farm and onelnindre<l and sixty 
acres in Zanesville Township, lieside a luick busi- 
ne.ss lic)use and dwelling in Raymond. His prop- 
ertv increases each year in value, .and financial 
success has rewarded hisexertitins. 



-'-^=^>-^^<^- 



\f7 UCY K. (WAIT) KING. Tlieladywlio.se 
name gives title to the following sketch is 
^ well known in the section in which she re- 
sides. She is a (lersoii of prominence, not only 
on account of the lioiiorcd name she licars, liut 
also from her |iersonal excellence of mind and 
heart. Her father, Thomas 15, AVait, Jr., was a na- 




444 



PORTRAIT A2sD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



live of Maine, as was also bis father, Thomas B. 
AVait, Sr. Like nu>st of the prominent and lead- 
ins families of Now England, the Wait family 
of whom our subject is a descendant trace their 
ancestral line l>ack to Old England, the birthplace 
of so many c>f the wisest and best men of the age. 
Thomas B-Wait. Sr.. was a printer and bcK>k pul>- 
lisher in Portland. Me., and edited and pub- , 
lished the fii^l |>ai>er printed in that city, lie re- ; 
moved to Bc»ston, M.iss., where he conducted the I 
largest publishing house in that city at that time. ! 
Hei-e he continued in business until his death, 
which CH?curred at an advanced age. 

The father of our subject was educated for the 
profession of a lawyer, .ind received a tine educa- 
tion, gi-aduating from one of the finest law schools 
in the East. He oi.>eiied a law oHice in Brooklyn, 
Is. Y., and practiced there with i^^insiderable suc- 
cess for some years, but not liking the prt>fession 
he gave it up. In 181S he came West in com- 
jiany with his brother. William S. Wait, and 
both men entered large tracts of land in Bond and 
Madisvm Counties. 111. The journey was made 
c^verland by wagon, and by tlat-boat down the 
Ohio River. Mr. Wait located in what now is 
known as Old Ripley Township. At that plac-c he 
built a log cabin and the first gristmill in Bond 
County. Here he remained (or several yeai-s en- 
joying the wild life, so fascinating to many sons of 
civilization, and making lasting friendship with the 
Indians, who wandered by and often stopped to beg. 
Deer were frequent visitors, and it would not have 
been very difficult to find a" de.ir gazelle " among 
the wild creatures who fled at the sight of the 
hunter. Venison w.ns the main sustenance of the 
family durinij their travels through the AVestern 
country-. 

Tiring of tlie life of privation which a home in 
the wilderness made necessary. Mr. AA"ait took his ': 
family to Indiana, and here he remained for a | 
short time but a restlessness seemed to again take 
piwsession of him. and again he started AVestward. , 
and spent some months in Kentucky. Finally, he 
decided that more desirable homes could be pro- 
cured farther West, and he bought land in Iowa, 
aud then decided to conduct a general store. 
With his family he was on his wav to his new 



home with a stock of goods, when he w.ns sud- 
denly stricken with cholera, and in that awful ep- 
idemic died on the boat at Grafton, a small sta- 
tion not far from Alton. III. At that time there 
had lH?en no brave Stanford to test the efficacy of 
inoculatiou. and cholera swept througii the land 
with irresistible fury. So ended the life of a man 
who w.<js possessed of great gifts of mind, and who 
was ambitious to advant^e himself and family in 
tlie world. 

The mother of our subjec-t was Lucy Kelly, a 
noble woman. Iwrn in Norwich. Conn., where her 
father was a ship-owner. She became the honored 
mother of nine children, as follows: Elizabeth L., 
Charles A.. Hebciva. Mary E.. Ann C. AA'illiam. 
Thomas. Lucy K.. and George T. After the sad 
death of her husband Mi-s. Wait settled in Alton, 
and opened a school, for there was necessity fac- 
ing this bereaved mother with her helpless brot)d 
about her. Finally she took charge of the Pi.isa 
Hotel, when it w.isliere fii-st oi>ened up to the public. 
Among her patrons came Daniel Webster, on one 
of his Western trii>s. The great statesman com- 
plimented her highly ujKm her ability to please 
her guests and make a hotel seem like a home. 
Her life had some thrilling experiences, as the fol- 
lowing will testify: Elijah Lovejoy. the famous 
editor and Abolitionist, who was killed and 
dragged through the streets of Alton, for his tem- 
erity in publishing an Abolition paper, was a 
boarder at her house at the time, and she was the 
tii-st one to ring the church bell and give the 
alarm that called general attention to the terrible 
crime. . 

Eventually. Mi-s. Wait came back to Bond 
County, and bought three hundred and forty 
acres of land four miles north of Greenville and 
died there at the age of fifty-eight yeai-s. She 
was a woman of superior mind, well educated, and 
had energy aud a faculty for management which 
would have made her prominent in any position. 
Her daughter, the subject of the present writing, 
grew up here and .attended school in the log 
schoolhouse with her brothers, and remembers 
well the slab benches with pin legs and the rough 
puncheon floors. This was a subscription school. 
After this she was given the advantages of a good 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGKAPHICAL RECORD. 



ur, 



private school in Greenville. On .Septtrnljer 12, 
18.0.0, she was married to Kli-^ha H. Hlanehard, who 
was born on her present farm. Hii father, Seth 
Blancliarfl, came to I'.onfl County aJ^out 1820. and 
was a large land-owner and prominent farmer. 
After marriajje our subject and her husliand set- 
tled on this place. He was a prosperoas farmer 
and owned eight hundred acres of valuable land. 
He was a large stock-raiser, and a very energetic 
and enterprising man. Hy this marriage five chil- 
dren were born: Lucy L., It-ilph W. ("deceased;: 
Grace, George H. (deceased;, and Wiliiam H. 
(deceased). The death of .Mr. Blanchapl took 
place in June. 1H66. 

The second marriage of our subject t'Xjk place 
in 1869, U) Kdward T. King. His death occurred 
some years ago. Mrs. King is one of the largest 
land-owners in this section, having four hundred 
and si.\ty-ffiur acres of fine land, all under a high 
state of cultivation, which .-he rents. The loca- 
tion of her large residence is upon an elevation 
back from the highway, and is surrounded by a 
beautiful grove, which commands a fine view over 
the country Uj the South and West. .She and her 
accomplished daughter enjoy life, and spend much 
time at the fashionable summer res<jrts. They 
have spent one spring and summer upon the Pa- 
cific Coast. They travel a great deal, and are 
highlv cultured ladies. 



-■J-S-J-i- S^i^^ -^-5••^-5— 



^_KOR<iK M. TATllAM. During the last 
eighteen years. Mr. Tatham has l>een editor 

'•K\ and proprietor of the (Treenville Adcfyf-oAe, 
a paper which is so well known throughout this 
portion of the .State that it needs no special men- 
tion or eulogy in this biographical ^ketch. Mr. 
Tatham was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, October 27, 
1836. His father wasa native of the eastern shore 
of old Virginia, and his mother came from the 
"tight little island." being a native of London, 
England, but of Welsh parents, who came to the 
United States earlv in their married life. 



The father of Mr. Tatham was a merchant for 
the greater part of his life, and hi- -ved in 

his footsteps until he settled in O. 111., in 

1870, sine* which time he has Ijeen employed in 
editorial work. Our subject feels that e'iitorial 
work is a thorousrhly rnl-sionary one, for without 
the i^i^er progress would l>e hindered in every di- 
rection. Oiw world ha- t>een made smaller by the 
newsj^per and the telegrajjli, and its people and 
nations realize more than ever that they are but 
one farnilv in the broadest sense. 



^^ALLEE HAROLD. The princif^al news- 
\/ paper, containing, first, that which every- 

y body wants to know of — news concerning 
their neighl)Ors and ifx-ality: Hicond. a review of 
the hapx^enings of the world in general; and third, 
formative opinions \>\ a keen. ?hrend. editorial 
mind, is the paf^er pre-eminently U-longing to 
Greenville and called the Sun. It L- so well edited 
as to merit and receive the lilxral patronage of 
citizens throughout the town and county. 

The editor of the Sua. wh'jse name adorns the 
head of this sketch. was lx»rn at Fredericktown. 31 o.. 
•June 4. 18.07. He is a sou of Dr. .John and Emma 
(Vallee; Harold, natives of Ireland and Missouri. 
res[>ectively. The former emigrated to America 
after completing his medical course in his native 
land. He first settled at St. LouLs and later went 
to Fredericktown. Mo., where he was engaged in 
the practice of his profession until hLs decease in 
1860. His wife followed him five years later, leav- 
ing four children. 

The maternal grandfather of our subject. .John 
B. Vallee, was the first native in Ste. Genevieve, 
Mo., of any prominence who could ?peak the En- 
t'lish language and was c-alled by the natives 
'•Vallee L'Engletere" — English Vallee. He was a 
brother of .Joan Baptiste Vallee, commander of the 
L'pi)€r Louisiana district, while it was still in pos- 
session of the .Spanish Governor. As his name 
indicates, he was a native of France. 



446 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Our subject was n lad of but eight years 
when deprived of his mother's care. Ilis father 
had passed away live j-ears previously. He was 
reared by his uucle, Joseph Bogy, of St. Mary's, Mo., 
who was an officer in the Federal State Militia. 
The young man diligently prosecuted his studies, 
and in the spring, of 1874 he was graduated at the 
head of his class from the college of the Christian 
Brothers, at St. Louis, hi 1877, he was admitted to 
the Bar to practice law, and three years later he was 
elected Prosecuting Attorney for Ste. (jcnevieve 
County, Mo., and was re-elected to this position 
in 1882. He resigned tlie holding in 1884 and 
came to Greenville. 

While a resident of Ste. Genevieve, our subject 
was engaged in }>ublishing The Fair Play for four 
years, and on coming to this place he purchased 
the Sun. Four men are constantly employed in 
the office and extra hel[) is often utilized. In 1888, 
Mr. Harold was apjiointed Mastei' in Chancery of 
Bond County, which position he still liolds He 
is a Democrat in iiis political belief, and being 
gifted as a speaker he is fre(iuently i)ressed into 
service by his party as a campaign speaker. He 
holds a high place among the editors of the State. 



[f^REDERICK LAW. 

\\-J/'z 



There is a pithy West- 

In^ ern saying: 

l^ " It is not rank, or wealth or State, 

But 'git-up-and-git' that makes man great." 
The rapid and precocious growth of the Central and 
Western States, and the building up of commercial 
and social relations have necessitated an energy bare 
of other elements that would be considered impos- 
sible in the Old World. Our subject is one of the 
men who has made himself a name and position in 
consonance with this Western si)irit, and that with- 
out many other advantages. 

Mr. Law is the leading harness and saddle man- 
ufacturer of Nokomis. He is of German birth and 
parentage, having been born in the city of Baden, 



Germany, .lune 17, 1843. His father was Henry 
Law, a weaver by trade. His mother was Maria 
Law. When the subject of this sketch was but 
eight years of age his parents made the change 
from Germany to the New World, settling at Ham- 
ilton, Ontario, Canada. Here the youth grew up, 
having but small opportunity to develop in an 
intellectual direction, but intuitively grasping 
those better principles of life which help one to a 
natural growth and mental development. 

At the age of eighteen, the gentleman whose 
name is at the head of this sketcii began to learn 
the harness-maker's trade at Mount Pleasant, Can- 
ada, and just as Peace was spreading her white 
wings over the disturbed States, he determined to 
cross the line and make a home for himself as a 
citizen of the Union. He first engaged in his 
trade in New York State, working also in Penn- 
sylvania for a year, and in 18(55 he came to Illi- 
nois and was at once prepossessed in favor of Mont- 
gomery County. Two years later he establislied 
himself in business at Nokomis, and since that time 
has been actively engaged in the same line. He is 
a i)ioneer in his trade, and during the years that 
have passed his business principles, as well as in- 
dustry, have made him the best kind of returns — 
a large and prosperous business. 

Mr. Law is a Democrat in his political faith, and 
li.as the strength of his convictions in regard to 
the principles of his party — Free Trade and all. 
He has pla3'ed a prominent part in local politics, 
having generously given of his time and ability to 
the municii)al government, and has acceptably 
filled a number of the local offices. The confi- 
dence of his fellow-citizens in his integrity and 
abilit}- is shown by his recent election to the Presi- 
dency of the Board of Education., he having re- 
ceived this honor by a large and llattering major- 
ity. Socially, our subject is a prominent member 
of the Odd Fellows' lodge, and is a strong advo- 
cate of fraternal support. 

Mr. Law became a benedict in 1868, soon after 
becoming a citizen of the States. His nuptials 
were solenniized at Nokomis, his bride being Miss 
Susannah Jane Barringer, a native of this county. 
Death, however, robbed him of his companion 
three years later, leaving him as the pledge of their 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



447 



love two ehildi-en, Rosina and Nellie. The. former 

is now the wife of Ciuirles Hill, of Pana, this 
State. 

Without the presence of a deft-handed, tactful 
and tasteful woman, home lacks its chief clement. 
This Mr. Law felt, and on March ;"), 187:!, he [ire- 
vailed upon Jliss Amanda jNIallina Cole, a native 
of this State, to take his name and liecome the head 
of his h<uise. This union has been hle.ssed by the 
advent of three children; death cl.-iimed one of the 
little ones, however, when at the most- fascinating 
baby age, when the problems of life '.ire just 
opening out before the childish mind. The two 
surviving children arc, Dor.-i licUe and Charles 
Jesse. 



C3_ 



-^^■i--^ 




[=" 



B. VOLENTIXE. The gentU-maii whose 
life we here brielly sketch is c^ne of the 

''\J most prominent farmei's in .Sh()al Creek 
Township. Bond County, III. lie was born on a 
farm adjdining the [ilace when' he now lives, Feb- 
ruary 23, 1K4S), and was the youngest of three 
sons born to W. P. and M. E. (Jones) ^'olentine. 
His father was a native of North Carolina, and his 
mother was liorn m Tennessee. 

But little can be learned of the early history of 
the N'olentine family, but there are many charac- 
teristics apparent in both the older and younger 
members to qualify the surmise that their ances- 
tors were Scotch. The gr.-indfather of our suliject 
settled in Btmd County in the year 1HI7, and was 
known as a man of fine principles and admirable 
traits of heart and mind. The fathci- of our sub- 
ject was a man of limited meairs, but allowed his 
familv all the advantages he could possibh' afford. 
He dep.arteil this life on the old \'olcnlinc home- 
stead December 1, 1867, having just completed his 
fiftv-tirst year. The mother of our subject was 
ijuite |)rominently connected in the South, and w.as 
a most excellent exain|iie of the pioneer wife and 
motiier; she departed this life in the \ear 1888. at 
the age of sevent\-tlirce years. 



The brothers of our subject were Ewing M.,who 
only lived until live years <dd; and Eschew A., 
born January 2ti, 1817, who de|>arted this life after 
.living one year and eight days. Theirsister, Louisa 
A., is now the wife of Mr. Edwards, a prominent 
farmer and most excellent business man, who re- 
sides on the old \'olentine homestead. 

After com|)lcting the I'ommon-school course, our 
subject found that from the experience obtained 
on his father's fai'ui, he w.as eminently fitted to 
commence the serious pursuits of ji livelihood as a 
farmer. His lirst purchase was a farm containing 
two hundred and eighty acres, and by strict atten- 
tion to business and energy, thrift and enteiprise, 
he has to-day added three other farms to his first 
possession, and now has Wv^y hundred and thirty- 
five acres. 

The 3'car 1877 is the one marked for our subject 
by the event of his life to which the most senti- 
ment is attached. On the .'Hstof May of that 
year, Miss Sarah E. St'>pp became his wife. This 
lady was the daughter of B. W. and K. G. (Tid- 
well) Step)). Her father and mother were lioth na- 
tives of the St_)nth, and she was bcu-n in Tennessee. 
The Stepp family consists of the following chil- 
dren: Elizabeth, who is the wife of Elias .lones, of 
Joplin,l\Io.; Margaret, the wife of W. T. Foster, of 
Alton, 111.; Eva, the wife f)f Edward Beckley, of 
Chicago; the brother .lohn is in business in Cali- 
foi-nia; and William Iv. is a well-known business 
man of Fillmore. 111. 

.Mr. and ;\Irs. N'olcntine have been the parents 
of five children, one of whom died before reach- 
ing the lioundary li]ie of childhood; the oth- 
ers are Omer, who is now thirteen year.-- old; ( )liver, 
one vear voungei'; Elhe, who was lioi-n January 
22, 1881; and Ethel, who was born A|)rd ]i>, 
188:5. Mr. X'olentine is ;i man of progressive ideas 
and broail thought. It is the ambition of him and 
his wife Ih.at their children shall each possess the 
best possilile educational advantages, and to this 
end they do all in their i)ower to encourage the 
pursuit after knowledge in their progeny. 

Mr. ^'olentine has alw.'iys identified himself po- 
litically w'ith the Hepubliean p.arty and is an 
earnest exjionent of the principh's of his na- 
tive land. He is satisfied to ))ursue the even tenor 



448 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of his wa}', without seeking recognition from the 
liart.v lie stanchly supports, and seeks only the 
honor of lieing known as a loyal American citizen. 
Mr. Volentine is a man of bright, frank, genial na- 
ture, broad outlook in his views and acts, and lie 
has used his inlluence by example and otherwise 
to advance the welfare of the community in which 
he resides. 



"jllOSEPII C. WRIGHT, Sheriff of Bond 
1 County, 111., who resides in La Grange 
^^ 1 Township, has the honor of lieing a native 
'i^J' of this State. He was born in Madison 
County, on the 10th of May, 1841. and is a son 
of Colwell and Agnes P. (Daniel) Wright, the 
former a native of Virginia, and the latter of 
North Carolina. 

The father of our subject was a farmer b}- occu- 
pation and came to Illinois in 1834, locating in 
Madison County, where he carried (m agricultural 
pursuits for some time. The year 1848 witnessed 
his arrival in Bond County, and he again turned 
his attention to farming, which he carried on in 
JMulberry Grove Township, there making his home 
until his death on the 19tli of January, 1852. The 
mother survived him about eight years, dying in 
December, 1860. Their family numbered eleven 
children, eight of whom are yet living: George 
W., Mrs. Elizabeth Reynolds, William, Mrs. Martha 
.lett, Mrs. Virginia Rodgors, Josei)li C. Joshua 
and Mrs. Saraii Hubbard. 

The subject of this sketch spent the days of his 
boyhood and j-outh upon his father's farm and 
.icquired his education in the public schools. He 
then engaged in teaching for one term, and re- 
mained upon the home farm until after tlie death of 
his mother in 1860. After the breaking out of the 
late war, he responded to the country's call for 
troops, enlisting as a member of Company E, 
Twenty-second Illinois Infantry, in which he 
served for tiireo yoai'S- t"" months and two days. 
He was slightly woumJod at tUe battle of liosava, 



and a wound received while building a breastwork 
confined him in a hospital at Cain Creek, Ala., 
from August 25, 1862, until the 25th of January, 
1863. After the exi)iration of his term of service, 
he was honorably discharged. He had partici- 
pated in the battles of Charleston (Mo.), Belmont, 
Farniington, Chattanooga, Chickamauga, New 
Hope Church, and a number of skirmishes. He 
proved himself a valiant and faithful soldier, was 
ever found at his post of duty and was a faithful 
defender of the Old Flag, which now Hoals so 
proudly over the united nation. 

After his duscharge. Mr. Wright came to this 
county and engaged in farming in La Grange 
Townsiii[) until 1886, when he came to (ireenville, 
and for four years served as Deput\- Sheriff. He 
was then elected, in 181(0, to the oHice of County 
Sheriff, which position he still tills. He also 
served for eight years as Constable of La Grange 
Township. In politics, he is a stalwart Republican, 
warinl3' advocating the principles of that party, 
and in his social relations is a member of the 
Grand Army of the Republic. 

In the year 1879, Mr. Wright was united 
in marriage with Miss Effie A. Watson, daugh- 
ter of Andrew W. Watson, of this county, and 
their union has been blessed with three children, 
who are yet living: Charles O., Irena M. and 
George C. Mr. Wright is widely and favorably 
known throughout Bond County. His worth and 
ability led to his election to the office of County 
Sheriff, and his faithful discharge of duly has 
shown that the conlidence reposed in him is not 
misplaced. He is a brave, fearless man. straight- 
forward in all his dealings, and his friends 
throughout the community are many. 



RBANE B. HARRIS. For a number of 
3'ears prior to his decease, this gentleman 
was a member of the firm of Northcott & 
Harris, dealers la real estate, at Crj'eenviUe, He 




PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



449 



was a native of Beaver Creek Township, Bond 
Coiinly. I>oi-n February U', 18;i3. Ilis parents, 
Jolm and Nancy (Goodson) Harris, were natives 
of Ki'ntueky, and liis father U)cated in tliis county 
in l.S2(;. His grand|)arents were Rev. William 
and Naney (Hismith) Harris, natives of \'irginia. 
Tlicgrandfatlier was a minister in tiie Cumberland 
I'resl)3'terian Church and to that work devoted his 
energies throughout life. He was a large man, 
weighing two hundred and fifty iH)unds, and his 
wife weighed nearly four hundred |)uunds. They 
reared seventeen children, all of whom grew to 
mature j-ears, and seven of the twelve sons were 
preachers in the Cumberland Preshyteiian Church. 
Only three sons and one daughter are now living: 
Rev. W., of Tazewell County, 111.; Rev. .Tosiah, of 
Clarksburg, Tex.; Kev. Challam, of Kentucrky; and 
Mrs. (Jeorge Blewit, of Texas, whose liu>band is a 
minister. 

The mother of our subject was a daughter of 
William and .Sarah (Maxey) (ioodson, natives of 
Virginia, who were married in Kentucky. The 
father was an extensive farmer an<l came to Bond 
County in 1826 with the father of our suliject. 
Here he continued farming until his death. The 
Harris family also engaged in agricultural piu-- 
suits, its members comprising seven children, who 
were all connected with the old Cumberhuid Pres- 
byterian Church. Our subject, who was the 
youngest member of the family, spent his boyhood 
days upon the home farm, ac(|uiring his education 
in the common schools. In 18.j5. he commenced 
to teach, which profession he followed for ten 
years during the winter season, working on a farm 
during the summer. 

In 1862, Jlr. Harris enlisted in Comimny K.One 
Hundred and Thirtieth Illinois Infantry, of which 
he was made Captain on the 12th of August. The 
troops went into camp at Belleville, and after two 
weeks were sent to Camp Butler, .Springfield 111., 
where llie\' remained until the 1st of November. 
They were tlien m camp at Memphis until March, 
1863, when (hey went to .Milliken's Bend, on the 
Mississippi, a n<l from there down the river sixty 
miles below \icksbuig. Thev were attached to 
the Second Brigade, Thirteenth Army Corjis, and 
Uie fii'*l battle in which they particijjated was at 



M.agnolia Hill. This was followed by the engage- 
ments at Cliam|)ion Hill and BlacU Ri\er Bridge. 
On the ]'.)th of May. 186.3, they commenced the 
siege of Vickslnirg, which lasted forty-eight days, 
when the city surrendered. ( »ii the .5tli of July, 
they were ordered to .Jackson. ]Miss. The Rebels 
were driven into their works and e-\'acuated July 
16. Tliev then returned to ^'icksburg, and went 
down the river to New Orleans, when tlie.y were 
transferred to the command of (ien. Banks in the 
Department of the (iulf. In February, 1864, 
Capt. Harris resigned his commission on account 
of rheumatism and malarial fever, and returned to 
his home. He was a faithful soldier, but his ardu- 
ous service proved too much for his health, and for 
a long time after the ex[iirati<)n of his service he 
was unalile to do any work. 

After partially recfivering, the Caiitain engaged 
in buying and selling stock, which business he 
followed until 1867, when he embarlscd in mer- 
chandising within a mile and a-lialf of the place 
where he was reared. To this work he devoted 
his energies for some sixteen years, and the busi- 
ness is now managed by his son. He came to 
Greenville in 188;3, and for two years lived retired. 
He then formed the p.'irtnership with i\lr. Norlh- 
cott, which continued until his demise. 

Mr. Harris was married in l8.'J.1,to Elizabeth A., 
daughter of John (iregory, of Clinton County, 
111. They became the [larents of four children, 
all of whom are yet living, as follows: Margaret is 
: the wife of Thomas .1. Hull, of this county, by 
whom she has three children, Orace, Harris and 
■Mice. Luther J. is engaged in a general mercan- 
tile business at Wisetown, where he makes his 
home; he married Miss Bettie Sharp, of Bond 
County, and they have one son, Darrel. .John F., 
who is clerk in the Woodmen's olliee. at Fulton, 
111., married Miss Ella Denny, of this county, and 
they have one son. Linden. Shaw is a student at 
Fulton. 

In his social relations. Mr. Harris was an Odd 
Fellow and a member of thetJrand Army of the 
Republic. In politics, he was a stahvarl Republi- 
can, and served as a memlier of the County Board 
of Supervisors for ten years, and was for a timi; 
Mayor of Greenville, He possessed a spleiidicl 



450 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



physique, being about six feet in height and heavy 
set. In manner, he was genial, and upright in liis 
business dealings, enjoying the confidence of all 
with whom ho was brouglit in contact. It was 
considered a public loss when he was removed 
hence by death, August 7, 1891. After his de- 
cease, ins widow removed to Wisetown, where she 
now makes her home. 



4^- 



■#> 



<| IV)ILLIS WILLEFORD, for many years one 
\/\/// '-"^ ^^^ wealthiest and most prosperous far- 
\^l niers in his section of the State, now re- 
tired from .active agricultural duties, devotes his 
time to the man.agement of his large landed prop- 
erty. A native of liond County, Hi., l)orn .lan- 
uary 30, 1832, on the section wliere he now re- 
sides, he has, during his many years of useful and 
honored citizcnsiiip, held various (jtliccs of trust, 
whose duties lie lias cvei- discharged with unvary- 
ing and faitliful ability. 

Our subject is the son of .Tames and Nancy 
(Price) Willcford, and a half-l)rother to Robert 
"Willeford, a veteran of the Jlexican War. The 
Willefords were Virginians, and, in the earls- days, 
large planters and slave-owners. The paternal 
grandfather was a brave and energetic man who 
fought in the Revolutionary War, and who lived 
to almost round out one hundred years. Nancy 
Price, the mother of our subject, was the daughter 
of David Prii'e, who was born in \ii-ginia, in 177(1. 
His father, .lonathan Price, and paternal grandfa- 
ther, also named .Jonathan, were both natives of 
tiie Old Dominion. Later, some of the famils' 
found their way to Tennessee, from which State 
they emigrated to Illinois in 1827. The mother 
of our subject was born in 18(H), and died in her 
Illinois home, in 18S(;. Willis A\'illeford was the 
only child of his mother who lived to mature 
years, but l)y a former marriage his fatliei- had 
four other children. 

Our subject grew <i|i on liis father's lidUH'stead, 
where he has continued to reside all his l>.t'e. He 



received more than an ordinary education for a 
farmer's son of those days. He has been a gen- 
eral agriculturist, stock-raiser and land speculator, 
but for the past few years has left the manage- 
ment of ills large farm to his son John, vviih whom 
he lives. IMr. Willeford owns some twelve hun- 
dred acres of fine farming land, and occupies him- 
self with buying and selling real estate. He is not, 
nor ever has been, an office-seeker, but he is a life- 
long Democrat, and for twenty 3-e.ars has been a 
member of t!ie School Board, and a School Trustee. 
Deeply interested in the advancement of educa- 
tional work, our subject has been closely identified 
with the |)rogress of intelligence and various 
needed reforms which have superseded the ci'ude 
and ineffective methods of early times. 

For over thirty-two years our subject has been 
Clerk of the Primitive Baptist Church, of which 
he is an exemplary and valued member. On Feb- 
ruary 22, 1855, he married Miss Polly A. Long, a 
daughter of the Rev. Peter Long, who for more 
than sixty years preached in this locality, and vvas 
also a teacher as well as an author of some note, 
having pul>lished many works of merit. Mrs. Wille- 
ford died May 5, 1873, leaving six children. 
.Tohn is the eldest, and was born March 3, 1856, 
and has been the recipient of a good education, 
which he h.as well ini|irovcd. He is a devoted 
Christian, and lias Ijoen a member of the Primitive 
Baptist Church for over seventeen years, and is 
the present Moderator of the church, and an ac- 
knowledged leader in all its religious and benevo- 
lent enterprises. 

Mr. John Willefiird manages liis father's large 
farm as well as liis own, which adjoins it, and 
conducts the business in a most thorough and effi- 
cient manner. He was married September 13, 
1877, to Sarah K. Hunter, daughter of the oldest 
l)ioncer settler in Bond County, Marshall Hunter. 
This well-known and estimable lady had no chil- 
dren.. The next child of our subject was his daugii- 
ter Nancy K., who was born July 11, 1857, and is 
the wife of Hobert M. Hunter, son of W. McLin 
Hunter, a successful farmer in Ripley Township. 
James L. was born Fel)ruary 23, 1850, and mar- 
ried Septemboi- 8, I87'.t, to Miss Julia ,\. Claiiton, 
whose father was one of the pioneei's of the county. 








((^^^Oi/l^-W^l/^jLyL 



PORTRAIT AJCD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



453 



and also lives in Riple}' Townsiiip. Martha E.. 
born iMarcii 6. 1HG3, was married Juno 27, IHSI, 
to B. M. File, son of T. I>. File, also one of Pxnid 
County's pioneers, wlio lives in Ripley 'I'ownsliii.). 
William Willis, born May 29, 186t!, was united m 
marriage with Miss Rose Tal)or, August 4, IK87; 
bis wife is a daughter of .lames Tabor, of Madison 
County 111. Mary .1.. born Oetolier 4, KSIJS, w.as 
married October 27, IBISG, to T. S. File, son of .1. 
N. File, one of the most pros|)eious farmers of Ri))- 
Icy Tow^nshi]). These sons and daughters of our 
subject, Willis AVilleford, are widely known for 
their enterprise aud general business abUitv, and 
exhibit in their character the traits of honest in- 
tegrity and sterling worth which have ever dis- 
tinguished the Conduct in lift' of both father and 
mother. 



»\~^fjin ^^ p* 



"jf ACOB CLEARWATER, M. I). The subject 
of the present writing is the oldest physi- 
cian of Lilchtield, having come here when 
there were only three houses in the place. 
He is the son vi Reuljen and .lane (Miller) Clear- 
water, and was born in Highland County, Ohio, 
I )ecember 27, 1<S20. His fathei', a farmer by occu- 
pation, was originally from Nctrtli C;irolina,and, for 
a time, made his home in Tennessee, where he mar- 
ried, antl thence removed to Ohio. He was reared 
a follower of George Fox, and a member of the .So- 
ciety of Friends, Init ho saw reason to change his 
belief, and became a preacher in the Methodist de- 
nominatinn. He was cotemiiorary with, and a 
companion of Peter Cartwright, and these good 
and self-sacrificing men worked together for many 
years. Our suliject well remembers .seeing them 
t(.igether, and the visits he made to the home of 
the good but erratic old divuie. Reuben Clearwa- 
ter lived to be eighty-six years old and passeil 
away after a ministerial life of sixty-two years. 
His last d.ays were spent in Mc[>ean County, III. 

When uine years old our subject accompanied 
his parents to McLean County, 111., and he well re- 

21 



members the time when, with his father, he at- 
tended the first sale of town lots at Bloomington, 
this State. When lie reached a proper age he \>c- 
gan to read medicine with Dr. iloran, of Leroy, 
111., and afterward was with Dr. Wakefield, of 
Point Isabella, 111. S<.)me fiveorsix years later he 
entered into partnership with Dr. Lemon, and that 
connection continued for ten years. In 18r)4, Dr. 
Clearwater came to Lilchtield and upcned an of- 
fice for the practice of his prcifession. He soon 
won his way, for in those times the physician was 
the fi'iend as well as the healer, .'ind no call was 
disregarded though it came from many miles 
away. The good Doctor has traveled over the 
prairie as far distant as .St. Louis and ^lattoon on 
his errands of mercy. In those e.arly days he was 
obliged to make many journeys on horseback, no 
doubt, and (jrobably often over Indi.'in trails in- 
stead of good country roads. 

How many changes the Doctiir has seen in his 
long life herel The scho(_)l and church bells peal 
over the land where, in his early pioneer life, was 
heard the war-whooj) of angry savages. Rich mead- 
ows and fattening Hocks meet the eye where once 
grew wild |)rairie grass or the trees of natural 
growth. All these changes have lieen very appar- 
ent to the country ph\sician in a growing ci.immu- 
nily, and with the improvements in every direc- 
tion our subject took a deep interest. The active 
practice of Dr. Clearwater did not close until he 
w.as himself attacked, and liy one of those myste- 
rious maladies which liave always liatfled the skill 
of the most learned. He was paralyzed in his left 
.side in I8.S6, and this caused hiui to restrict his at- 
tention entirely to ollice practice. His patients 
would nolgi\e him up, but he was stricken a sec- 
ond time. Since that calamity he has recognized 
the affectionate wishes of his patients, and o|)ened 
an otfice in his home foi- tiiose who feel th.at they 
can have no one else. 

The first mai'riage of Dr. Clearw.ater united him 
with IMi.ss .Susan Stansbury, of Mcr>ea,n County. 
They became the parents of (jne child, that died 
four days after the death of its mother. Later the 
Doctor married Miss l-",lizabet.h, d.'iugliter of Sam- 
uel P.rickey, and t<) them nine children have been 
born, of whom three arc still living. Susan is the 



454 



POSTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



wife of John Miindou; Hester M., is the wife of 
Thoma.'- Tolly, of Wilmington, Del.; and Napoleon 
lives in the rei^idence adjoining that of his father. 
Oursubjeet built his present home in 1872, and 
has lived in this place ever since. Socially, he af- 
filiates with the Masonic fraternity, and Elliott 
Chapter No. 2. He and his family are members 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 




EMUEL ADAMS, a prominent citizen of 
Greenville, claims Ohio as his native State. 
He was born in Dayton, April 30, 1831. 
Through many generations the ancestry of the 
family is traced back to John Ap Adam, who left 
the marshes of AVales in 1310, and settled in Eng- 
land. Those in the line of direct descent are John, 
John Ap Thomas, William John, Roger Adams, 
Thomas, Nicholas, Richard, Robert, George and 
Henry, all natives of England. The family' name 
was Adam in AVelsh, and was finally anglicized to 
.Adams by Roger Adam, and the name remains the 
same now. Henry Adams came to this country in 
1632 with eight sons, and settled in Hraintree, 
^lass. One of his children, Joseijh, was one of the 
incorporators of Braintree in 1631. Anotherson, 
Henry, removed to iNIedford, jMass., in 1649, and 
served as Town Clerk, and was Representative to 
the Colonial Legislature in 1659, 1665, 1674 and 
1675. He was also a Lieutenant in Iving Pliiliji's 
War, and was killed in his own dooryard by the 
Indians. His wife was accidentally killed Iw an 
Englisliman. We give below a copy of the will of 
Henry Adams, the founder of the family in this 
country. 

" First. m_y will is that my sonnc, Peter and 
John, and my dan. Trsula, shall have the ground 
in the Neck, both upland and meddow dur- 
ing the time I w.'is to enjoy it until it returne 
into the townes hands againe, from whom I had 
it. Also the aker in the millfields. My Will is 
that my bookes shall be devided aniongst all my 



children, that my wife shall have and enjoy all my 
other Goods so long as shee liveth unmarried, and 
if shee marry, then my Will is }'t Josephe, Ed- 
ward and my dau. Ursula should enjoy all mj' 
grounds in the tield that lyetli in the w.ay to 
Waymouth ferry, and my house Lott with all the 
houses and fruit tries and .all my movables, at 
the death or marriage of my wife: Provided they 
and their mother shall pay to my sonne Samuel 
that well is due him for the ground I l)ought of 
him to be payed in Convenient tyme. But incase 
God should deal with my wife that shee be con- 
strained to make use of something b\' way of sale, 
shee may. finally for movables my will is that 
my Sonne Peter and John shall have an e(iuall 
share with my sonne Joseph and Edward, and my 
dau. I^rsula. 

HENRY ADAMS, 

,, Ti - 8, 4, 164 (. Braintree, M.ass. 

Kl( HARD Bi;A( KETT. \ 

Incrkase Nowej,l, Sec. 

Recorded in Suffolk Probate Records, Vol. 2, 
page 32. Amt. of inventory 75£'. 13s. 

IXCKEASK No well, ScC." 

8, 4, 1647. 

Joseph Adams, son of Henry Adams, was the 
next in line in direct descent to our subject. 
Then came Joseph, Jr., born December 14, 1 654, and 
Samuel, who was born in Massachusetts in 1694. 
Nathaniel, born January 19, 1745, the great- 
grandfather of our subject and tiie son of Samuel, 
was also born in the Bay State, was a farmer by 
occupation, and was a Revolutionary soldier. 
John C. Adams, grandfather of our subject, was 
born in Philadelphia, I*a., and married a Miss 
AValdron, a native of New Jersey. The}- removed 
to Virginia, and from that State to Kentucky, in 
1798. In 1800 they went to Ohio, settling near 
Springfield, where he engaged in farming. He 
afterward removed to Dallas County, Iowa, where 
ills death occurred at the age of eighty-eight 
years. 

John Adams, father of our subject, was born in 
Ohio in 1802, and married iMary Bacon, a native 
of New York. He emigrated to Scott County, 
111., in 1850, and there lypiked at the trade of 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



455 



coopering until Iiis reniovnl to tliis county, in 
1852. lie settled in Mills Township, and after- 
ward cainc to Greenville, wheie he died in 1M77. 
His wife died the same week. He was seventy- 
five years of aye, and she seventv-tliree. In |)o!i- 
tics, Mr. Adams was a Repiililicaii. With the Meth- 
odist Church he held membersliip, and his wife 
was a I'i'eshyterian. Of their six children four are 
yet living: Nelson, Leiiiurl, .lohii and Harry. | 

At the age of seventeen years Lemuel Adams left 
home, and started to learn the blacksniith's trade 
in Indianajiolis, Ind. In \X')iK lie came to Illinois 
with his parents, remaining with them until after 
their remo\'al to Bond ('oiinty. He was em- 
ployed in a blacksmith shop and wagon works 
until 18G1, when, i)roini)ted by patriotic ini[iulses, 
he joined Company D, Twenty-second Illinois In- 
fantry, and was made Second Lieutenant. He 
participated in the liattles of Charleston, IJelmout, , 
Farmington, Columbia, and the siege of Corinth, , 
and at the battle of Belmont was wounded in the 
left arm and hiii. He was also taken prisoner and 
sent to Kentucky, but after a few days was ex- 
changed. He was then confined in the hospital 
for three months, and while there was promoted 
to the rank of First Lieutenant. In .Inly. 1862, 
he rejoined his regiment, and the following No- 
vember, his health being completely broken down, 
he resigned his iiosition and retiu-ned home. 
After his return he served .as Deinity Sheriff, and 
later engaged in merchandising with good suc- 
cess for some j-ears. In 18.S-2 he was ajipointed 
Postmaster by President Arlliur, serving until 
188G, when he was elected County Clerk. That 
office he filled four years. 

Mr. Adams was married in 1862 to Miss Julia 
F. Birge, daughter of Ansell and Millicent Birge, 
natives of Vermont. She died in 1874, leaving 
three children, Fnima, Fdgar and Cora. In 1H82, 
Mr. Adams married INliss Anna ftlorris, of Indi- 
ana, and they have a daughter. Mattie K. Mis. 
Adams is one of four cliildii'ii born to .John U. 
and Martha (Chappell) Morris, members of the; 
.Society of P'riends and natives of North Carolina. 
The grandfatlier, .loshua Morris, was a native of 
the same State, and a miller by trade. The great- 
grandfather, Nathan Morris, w.as also born in 



North Carolina, and his parents emigrated from 
Fngland tC) America in the seventeenth century, 
and lirst settled on Nantucket Island, Mass. Mar- 
tha Morris was a daughter of Oideon and Mary 
(S(piires) Chapi)ell, natives of North Carolina, and 
of Frencli and Scotch descent. The father of 
j\Irs. Adams was an extensive farmer. He emi- 
grated to Indiana in 1821, and there died in 1.S71), 
having survived his wife one year. Their chil- 
dren were Francis M., David W., Caleb .1. and 
Anna. 

In his social relations, ]\Ir. Adams is a Mason, 
an Odd Fellow, and a member of the Orand Army 
of the Republic. His residence is a fine home in 
the eastern part of Greenville. For many years 
he h;is been numbered among tbe leading citizens 
(if the county, and has borne a prominent [lart in 
public interests. He is true to every duty ilevolv- 
ing upon him, whether official or private, and the 
highest esteem of his friends and .acquaintances is 
his. 



^>^^< 






f^^UK LIT(IIFIKLI) ITHLIC LIBRARY. The 

(([^^ above-named institution appeals to two 
V^^ classes of people with e<|ual l.ieneficeuce and 
graciousness. It is a wonderful eihu'atcir to tlie 
residents of the city, who have constant access to 
its well-filled shelves; to the stranger who may 
lia|)pen to lie within the pretty town and with but 
few, if any, ac(iuaintaiices, it is indeed atiod-seiid. 
The facts concerning its history are necessarily 
few and brief. It has another history, however, 
which is read in the lives of the growing \oung. 
|)eople <if the town which boasts its possession, 
for such ,'1 11 iiistituticui cannot exist without hav- 
ing its silent, refining and ennoliling iiitluence. 

The Librar\' was o[)eiied in April, 1882. Who its 
original [iroiiioter was, the writer does mit know. 
From the first it was taken into the charge of the 
municipal authorities and is su|)ported by tax. 
Kvery evening linils its hospit:ililc door opiui f(jr the 
reception of those wlio may wish to consult works 

of reference, magazines or pa|)ers, and those who 

* 



456 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



are on the regular list for exchanging books. The 
I>il)rarv contains twenty-six hundred volumes, 
which have been selected with great care and in- 
dicate the taste v{ Litchfield's reading public. 
Last year lifty-lluee hundred books were taken 
out from the room and ten thousand five hundred 
visitors were hospitably received during the same 
length of time. 

The rooms are attractive and well kept. They 
are made cheery in the evening by the whiteness 
and brightness of the electric light. Its Board of 
Directors consists of nine persons aiipoinled by 
the City Council, and the present Board comprises 
the following persons: D. W. Ta^'lor, President; R. 
N. Paden, Vice-president; Mrs. F. R. IMilnor, Sec- 
retary; jNIrs. John W. Rose, .S. M. Orubbs, Ch.arles 
Bartling, Mrs. II. II. Beach, Mrs. I). P. Woodman, 
and (t. L. Zink. 









^^=^USTAVUS R. SPANNAGEL is a promi- 
(f[ ig— nent and wealthy citizen of Nokomis, III, 
^^^1 and was born in West Prussia, .\ugust 15, 
1828, in which country his father was a farmer. 
On his farm our suliject grew to manhood, and 
in addition to assisting in the duties of the farm, 
he attended the public schools, receiving what in 
that country is termed a good business education. 
AVlien fifteen years old he w.as a[)[)renticed to learn 
the hardware business, which he followed for five 
years, after which he was connected with a silver- 
ware manufactory for two years, and then spent 
one year in the Prussian army, retiring with a 
Lieutenant's commission. He next went to Bel- 
gium, and for about a year and a-half he was em- 
ployed as l)ook-keeper in tlie office of a large im- 
porting and wholesale grocery house, where he 
found it was necessary for him to spe.ak four dif- 
ferent languages, which he was soon able to do. 
lie became remarkably pr<ilicieiit in Ihem all, and 
learned to read and write, as well as speak, them. 

About this time he became very desirous of 
coming to America, and in 1857 leached the 



United States, and proceeded directly to St. Louis, 
where he had an uncle living. lie at once became 
an employe in a wholesale hardware establish- 
ment, a i)ortion of the time being in the store as a 
salesman, and a part of the time on the road. He 
was with this establishment when the Civil War 
opened, and <as he had learned to love his adopted 
country, and had been taught to respect the Stars 
and Stripes in the land of his birth, he promptly 
responded to the first call for troops, and in the 
latter part of April, a few days after the call for 
seventy-five thousand troops, he w.as commissioned 
Sergeant-Majoi' of a regiment of Missouri infantry, 
and went first to Camp .Jackson and thence to Cairo, 
111., where he and his command remained for two 
months. They then made a raid into Jlissouri 
after Marmadnke, but his term of enlistment had 
more than expired, and the command was ordered 
to St. Louis to be mustered out. Mr. Spannagel 
was satisfied that more trouble was in store for 
the (xovernment, and he decided to hold himself 
in readiness for further action. He at once 
commenced to raise a company, and in JIarcli, 
18G2, was commissioned First Lieutenant of Com- 
pany E, First Missouri Infantry, for three 3'ears' 
service. After being at Camp Jackson for some six 
months, he went to Pilot Knob, where he was 
again honored with promotion, being commis 
sioned Quartermaster of his regiment, with head- 
quarters at Pilot Knob. This position he held 
until his tprm of service expired, and for much of 
the time was in command of the post, as well as of 
the regiment's quartermaster department, at Sul- 
phur Springs. He filled all these places of trust 
with marked distinction and scrupulous honesty, 
and at the expiration of his three years, or in 
March, 1865, be was mustered out of the service 
at St. Louis, having been in the emi)lo3' of the 
Government almost continuously for four years. 
At the close cif the war he established himself in 
the hardware business in St. Louis, under the firm 
name of (<. R. Spannagel & Co., a capitalist who 
furnished the greater part of the money for the 
CTiterprise being the company. This partnership 
continued for three jears, at which time fortune 
had smiled upon Mr. Spann.agel to such an extent 
that he had saved enough money to embark iu 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



457 



the liii>iiM>s himself. He amassod a o;oodl\' for- 
tune ill this business, which lie continued to fol- 
low until 1880, hut continued to carry on a whole- 
sale agricnlliuai implement business for sometime 
afterward. In the sinin^' of l,s,s,') he cHine ti> No- 
komis, and here established himself in the linrd- 
ware, furniture and ajiiicultiiral implement busi- 
ness, which he has since successfully coiiducte(l. 
A man of large means and liberal views, he is 
ever ready to lend a hel|)ing hand to a worthy 
cause, and the citizens of Nokomis arc justly 
[iroiid to mimlier him as one of them. He is a 
prominent memlier of the (irand Army of the Re- 
liublic, and was for years ('omniander of the p(.ist 
at Ni.ikoniis, and in 18',)1 was an Aid-dc-camp on 
the staff of the Department Commander. He has 
been a member of the Independent Order of ( )dd 
Fellows for the past thirty years, and is a member 
of the Nokomis Town IJoard. While in St. Louis 
he was a bank director. In 18('r.^, while in the 
army, he was married to Miss Louisa Pleuger, a 
native of St. Louis, but of German descent, and to 
them a fnniily of four chihlren has been born, 
only two of whom are living: (iiistavus II., who 
is associated with his f.alher in business; and .Al- 
bert, wliu is a jeweler C)f Nokomis. 



^|(OHN FIREMAN, a prominent resident of 
Pitman Town^liip. Montgomery County, is 
a native of Brunswick, (iermany, and was 
born December 18, 184 1. He was tlie son 
of .lacob and Elizabeth Fireman, both natives of 
(Termany, who S|)ent their lives in that land and 
nerer ventured across the lilne watei's of the At- 
lantic. 

Our subject was reared in iiis native place and 
obtained a good (Tormaii education, and since his 
arrival in America has learned our tongue with 
suiprising (|uickness. In 1858, he decided to bicl 
adieu for a time to his native shores and make his 
way to America. Hither he came, and from his 
embarking at Bremen until he landed at New Or- 



leans the buy of eighteen was receiving new impres- 
sions. Nine weeks were spent on the ocean, and 
when he landed he found still (piite a journey before 
him. He came up the Mississippi River to iMont- 
gomery C'oiinty. III., and began work for a farmer at 
S12anKuith. Here he laliored until the call came foi' 
volunteers in 18(il. and, like .<o many of his coun- 
trymen who had found a home on these shores, 
he immediately, enlisted in Company E, Fort^•- 
nintli Illinois Infantry, in the Sixteenth Arm\' 
Cor|.is, under (ien. A. .1. Sniilh. He participated 
in the battles of l-'l. Donelson, Shiloh, Corintli, 
Little Rock (Ark.), the Keel River expedition, 
Tupelo, the siege and battle of Nashville, and 
other engagements of minor impc.irtance. During 
the service at times he became incapacitated and 
received an honorable di-cliarge Septemlier 21, 
1865. 

Our subject returned from Ihe war not ipiite as 
strong and well as when he set out, but he felt 
that he had won a right to the countr\' which had 
invited him to her shores. His old home was 
still in Montgomery County, and there he re- 
turned, and in the spring of 187.'i he settled 
on his present farm and purch.ased two hun- 
dred acres of land. The mariiage of Mr. Fireman 
was celebrated in Novemlier, 18(;i), with ]>ridget 
Leonard, a native of Ireland, and the daughter of 
I'atrick and Catherine Leonard, liotli of wliom are 
deceased. In the fall of 18(!5, Mrs. Fireman emi- 
grated to America liy way of Queenstown, and 
by steamer reached New York City in eleven days, 
and came to Sangamon County. Here she lived 
for several years and then came into Montgom- 
ery County, where she met .Mr. I'"ireman. The 
children who have resuiteti from this union are 
F^lizabeth, who istlie wife of Arthur ISrown; Katie, 
Mollie, William. Nora. Rosa, Michael. Henry and 
Albert. Louis is deceased. 

Mr. and Mrs. Fireman aie connected with the 
Roman Catholic Clinrch, and aie regarded in that 
connection with great respect. Air. Fiieman has 
been a very hard-working man all his life and has 
earned his line land and sleek caitle by his honest, 
toil. Our subject is fond of seeing his friends, 
and his good wife assists him in showing hos- 
pitality, lie has a good record as a soldier ami 



458 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



is kindly lemembered by many of liis old com- 
rades in arms. Tine ranks of these brave men 
grow smaller and smaller every year, and the time 
will come when such records as this will be highly 
prized by the friends and families, who will turn 
to the truthful tale of the old soldier with pride. 
5Ir. Fireman is regarded as one of the most pros- 
[lerous and i)rogrcssive of the German-American 
citizens of Montgonier3- Count>'. 




F. McEWEN, the Superintendent of the 
Litchfield Marlile and Granite Company, 
1 i whose name appears above, was born at 
Ilillsboro, March 17, 1842. His father, 
John McEwen, was a native of North Carolina, 
and being a man of considerable strength of char- 
acter, he was enabled to attain a pleasing degree 
of success in life, for in those early days it was 
only he who had moral and physical force who 
could successfully battle with the hardships of the 
day. 

In 1839, •John McEwen removed to Montgomery 
Count^^, being at the time a widower. He came 
here as a pioneer, for there was as 3'et almost no 
improvement. He had the advantage of a trade, 
it being that of a blacksmith, and for some time 
prior to his death, which occurred in 1848, he was 
Justice of the Peace, and many were the hearts 
and lives which he bound together in bonds of 
matrimony. He himself was united in marriage 
to Miss Lydia Filch, who was born in Olney, this 
State. She continued as his loving helpmate until 
lier decease in 1887. 

(Jur subject with his companion, Ed Lane, now 
a Member of Congress, was obliged to work in 
order to maintain himself while he went to school 
at Ilillsboro. After learning his trade, that of a 
marble-cutter, he enlisted in the war, April 23, 
1801, volunteering in answer to the first call for 
troops, and joining Company H, of the Ninth Illi- 
nois Infantry. They did not, however, leave 



Cairo during the first one hundred days. He re- 
enlisted in the same com|iany and regiment, and 
went through all the important battles of the West, 

1 includinij Fts. Donelson and Henry, and was at Cor- 
inth and Shiloh,at which latter place he was shot 

' three times in one day. After this he was sent 
home (_)n a furlough as soon as he was able to go. 
On reaching Mound City, he was unable to go fai'- 
ther, and was obliged to lie down on the grass, 
with onl}' the blue sky abc>ve him for a canopy, 
remaining there for several hours, when he was 
put on board the cars and continued his journey 
home. 

After six weeks of recruiting health, our subject 
returned to his regiment, going with it to Atlanta, 
Ga., in that memorable march. His time of ser- 
vice having expired after that expedition, he re- 
ceived his honoralile discharge. He came to Ilills- 
boro and was there united in marriage to Miss 
Maria IM. Abbott, daughter of Stephen, and sister 
of William, Abbott, both of Ilillsboro. In the 
spring of 1866, the young people moved to Litch- 
field, and our subject soon after went into the 
marble business, opening a shop for himself, being 
sole proprietor of the establishment for twelve 
years. 

At the expiration of the time aliove mentioned, 
Mr. McEwen sold out his marble business and went 
into the grocery trade, but after an experience of 
five years in this line he returned to his old tiade, 
in which he was occupied at the time of the or- 
ganization of the Litchfield Marble and Granite 
Works. This organization, of which he was one of 
the original stockholders, was incorporated Janu- 
ary 25, 1888. Mr. T. C. Kirkland was made Presi- 
dent; S. M. Grubbs, Treasurer; and our subject 
Superintendent. Their capital stock was 13,000, 
and the firm is now running on a basis of about 
double that amount, there being a large amount of 
undivided profit. They are doing a business of 
about 825,000 annually, and this is constantly in- 
creasing in magnitude, the sales of last year being 
thirty per cent, more than the sales of the preced- 
ing year. 

Mr. McEwen was a stockholder in the Litchfield 
Investment Company at the time of its organiza- 
tion. In his political views, he is loyal to the 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



459 



priiK'i|)les of tliu Demueratie part\-. He is a mem- 
ber of 11)6 Grand Army of the Republic, and thor- 
ouglily enjoys the reunions with his old comrades. 
He belongs to the Modeiii Woodmen of America, 
and is also a Knight of Honor. 

Of llie live children who owe the gift of life to 
oni- subject, Jlinnie II. is ihe wife of Charles Fleni- 
ming; Grace is the wife of James F. Robinson, 
liraidwood; JIaude A., Florence, and A. F.. Jr., 
are still unmarried. As a family, they are united 
in their religious views, all being devoted mem- 
bers of the church except Mr. McEwen. Our 
subject is more than ordinarily successfed in the 
affairs of life, and holds an honored place among 
the citizens of LitcliHeld, this fact being attested 
by the honor uhieh they have conferred upon him 
in electing him to the position of City Alderman. 



-^3j 



"^- 



^+-^P— 



— ® 



Sv^^R. P. L. FREELAXD, of Nokomis, ill., is 
the youngest practicing physician and sur- 
geon in the place, and since 1885 has been 
the faithful and cfticiont })rofessional servant of 
the i)ublic in a community wliich has become more 
and more attached to him as the years have rolled 
by, while in neighboring towns and cities his 
skill has become recognized, and his services are 
in demand. Called into a family as a physician, 
he becomes a symiiathetic friend and counselor, 
and to his care, as a natural consequence, there 
are many trusts committed. 

Our subject was born in North C^arolina, near 
Statesville, March 20, IS,') J, a son of Thomas A. 
and C. S. (Lentz) Freeland, who were also natives 
of the old North State, his father being of Scotch- 
Irish descent, and his mother of Pennsylvania 
Dutch stock, her forefathers ha\'ing in an early 
day settled in that State. Thomas A. Freeland 
tilled the soil thioughout life on the farm on 
which be was born. Like other farmers' boys, the 
Doctor assisted his father with the farm duties 
during his youth, and at short intervals attended 
school until he was thirteen years of age, at which 



time his [larents left their native State to take 
up their I'esidence on the prairies of Illinois. They 
settled on a farm near Ilillsboro, in ^Montgomery 
County, and here he continued his foi'iiier occu- 
pation of tilling the soil and atteniling school, 
being for some time an attendant of the Ilills- 
boro Academy. 

As his father was by no means a rich man, the 
Doctor had to work his way slowly, and with the 
money he had received for his labors lie paid his 
own tuition at the academy. He was employed 
, to ring the bell and swei']) the schoolrofuns, 
and this he continued until he had attained his 
twenty-first year, when he went into a drug-store 
in Ilillsboro as a clerk. He remained here 
for one year, during which lime he acipiired a 
taste for the business, but in the meantime he 
taught a country school one term. In the fall of 
1880, he entered the College of Physicians and 
Surgeons at St. Louis, whei'c he commenced to 
prepare himself for the nol)le calling of a phy- 
sician, and in the fall of 1.S81 and the si)rini;' of 
1882 he attended lectures at the American Medi- 
cal College of St. Louis, from which he was gradu- 
ated in the spring of 1882. and the following 
August Ofjened an otlice at .Sandy IJeiid, Mont- 
gomery County. After practicing for nearly three 
years, he moved to the town of Witt, of which 
place he was a successful practitioner until the 
fall of 188G, when he went to St. Louis and coin- 
pli'ted his course in llie CoIlet;e of Physicians 
and Surgeons, graduating in the spring of 1887. 

Succeeding his graduation, our subject returned 
to Witt, where he continued t(.) I'cside until the 
spring of 1887, after which he continued his jmuc- 
tice at Witt. In 1888, he came to Nokomis, and 
here he has built up a practice that is much to 
Ins credit. It may be said of him that he stands 
at the head of his profession. Faithful and just 
in the conduct of his liusiness, as he is skillful 
and efficient in the practice of me<licine, he is 
without reproach in any of the affairs of life. He 
devotes himself to liis work with conscientious 
zeal and, as his profession is agreeable to his 
tastes, he cannot fail to become ])rominent. The 
Doctor, like all the other members of his family, is a 
Democrat, yet he takes no active part in politics. 



460 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



His brother, C. A. Freeland, has been quite a fac- 
tor in Moutgoinery County politics and has 
seived for some ^ears as County Treasurer. On 
the 31st of December, 1883, the Doctor was mar- 
ried to Miss Nonic Casselberry, a native of Illi- 
nois and a daughter of a prominent farmer of this 
section. Tliev have one child, a daughter, Noi. 



OC3sl^' 






<i[ l>ILLIAM J. ZIMMERMAN. On section 21, 
\pj/l Harvel Township, Montgomery County, 
\^j III., may be seen a fine farm, upon which 
has been expended much care in cultivation and 
development. The land is well drained, well 
watered and adorned with plenty of trees. Six 
acres arc planted to apple trees of the best varieties 
adapted to Central Illinois. This well-ordered 
place belongs to the gentleman whose name is in- 
scribed above. He is a native of the Prairie State, 
born in Madison County, April 9, 1847, the son of 
John W. and Mary (Slaughter) Zimmerman. 

Our subject's father was bcirn in Germany, from 
whicii country he emigrated witli his wife in 
November, 1846, at the age of twenty-eight years. 
Arrived at Alton, III., in December. In the spiing 
he moved to a farm near Moro. He has farmed 
and owned land in Madison and Macoupin Coun- 
ties, and is now living near his farms in the vil- 
lage of Harvel, Montgomery County, III. He 
is seventy-five years old, hale and hearty. 

Of nine children born to our subject's parents, 
William J. is the eldest. The others are John II., 
Wade J. M., Melissa, Fiederick, Edward andHenrj". 
The two other children are deceased. The one 
sister of the family is now Mrs. Dues, of Madison 
County, 111. In early manhood, our subject divi- 
ded his years of growth between Madison and Ma- 
coupin Counties. He taugiit school two terms, 
was in the hardware business one .year, but, 
finding it not congenial to his tastes, he has fol- 
lowed agricultural jjursuits since. 

Mr. Zimmerman was married April!), 1871, his 
bride being ISIiss Marv Kciser, of Fosterburg, Madi- 



son County, TIL, a daughter of II. H. Keiser. They 
have a large family and their children seem to 
be well cared for. Much is expended to give them 
an education and to instill into them the better 
princii)les of life. The childien's names are Ida 
W., a pupil of Jacksonville Deaf and Dumb Asy- 
lum; John Franklin, a Freshman at Blackburn 
University', Carlinville, 111.; Ella Maria, Mary 
Matilda, Minnie Malissa and Bertha Martha Lena 
are attending public school; Frances Ilattie, An- 
nie Fredericka and Arthur Willis are the ^oung- 
est; Herbert William is deceased. 

The Zimmerman farm comprises one hundred 
and sixt}' acres of land under excellent cultiva- 
tion. .By industry and prudence, our subject has 
been able to reap a gratifying degree of success 
from his labors. He enjoys theiespect and honor 
of his fellow-citizens, who have shown their con- 
fidence in his integrity by electing him to various 
local olliees. He was Diainage Commissioner, and 
was the first one to project andj Ijy the able as- 
sistance of his neighbor, W. W. Whitlow, to com- 
plete Union Drainage District of Montgomery 
and Christian Counties near Harvel, whieli drains 
nearly eighteen hundred acres, and cost more than 
^1 1,000. He has always taken an active part in pub- 
lic school affairs. Politically, he is a Republican 
and a member of the Modern Woodmen of Amei- 
ica. In their church views, he and his family alfili- 
ate with the Baptist denomination. 



V, 



♦ss^^s* 



*^^^- 



'jl? OUIS WAGNER, the pioneer marble dealer 
I (©) of Montgomery County and for over a 
JLAy. quarter of a century a representative busi- 
ness man of Ilillsboro, is an expert and accurate 
draughtsman and skillful carver, excelling in both 
the design and execution of his work. During 
the Civil AVar he furnished Harper's Weekly with 
man3- of its best sketches, and through the wide 
circulation of that magazine won for himself de- 
served recognition as an artist of ability. 







RESIDENCE OF LOU 15 WAGM ER, H I LLSBORO, ILL 



at»^a^= Jx .i. j . 'i ' ^t7<QSi'iS^7m- »yfa«*jMC3Sac^^ 







ESIDENCEOF VviJ.J. ZIMMERM ANXfi^ffffOi/? flr-^ff-^ POLLED CfiTTLES^SHROPSHI RE 5H [EF:)^LC:,.Z\., 

HARVLLTR MONTGOMERY CO.. I LL 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



463 



.Vltlinugli nearly all of the early reeol lections of 
Mr. Wagner are interwoven with the |iif)neer his- 
tory of Illinois, be is a native of the kinjichini of 
Wiirteinlierg, Germany, and was horn Augnst 21, 
1840. He is the son of (Jcorgc Wagner, a con- 
seientious, earnest man, and passed his childliood 
years in his birthplaee, (lermany. When a mere 
lioy, seeing but little opportunity for advancetiient 
in the home of his youth, he gathered tog(;ther his 
possessions, and, with his elder brother, ( ieorge, eui- 
liarked for the New World. Almost a lialf-centnry 
h,as plajjsed since the yonng emigrant made his long 
and tedious voyage, and the years that have conu' 
and gone have been eventful ones in his life. 

Our subjeet is one of ten children in the paren- 
tal family, nine of whom reached mature \t'ars 
and reared families. The daugliters have all i)assed 
away, but f(uir sons still survive: (xcorge, ,Iohn, 
Fred and Louis, the latter benig the yf)uugest son. 
Louis Wagner was but ten ^•ears of age when he 
went to reside with a brother in Chicago. lie laid 
the foundation for his education in the |iubbr 
schools of the Gaiden City, butcompleted his stud- 
ies at the Hathaway Academy, from which he was 
graduated with honor in ISIJI, School lifeendeil, 
he began an apprentiees!ii|) as marble cutter with 
J. .Sehurman, whose yard vvas situated on Clark 
Street, la 1859, he diicidcd to make a change of 
location and removed to llillsboro, 111. 

A little later there I'ame a general call to arms, 
and with true |iatriotism our sulijeet enlisted as a 
private in Company 1), One Il\indred andTwenty- 
sixtli Illinois Infantry. Oidy a short time elapsed 
before this regiment was facing the enemy in some 
of the fiercest battles of the late war. ()ur \oung 
volunteer shared the perils and |iiivatioMs ol the 
nieuuirable siege of ^'icksburg, and ujion VMrions 
battle-fields had many narrow escapes from cap- 
lure and death. He received his discharge at 
Springfield, .luly 12, 1805. As liefore mentioned, 
he enlisted as a private, but wjis promoted from 
the ranks successively to .Sergeant, Second Lieu- 
tenant, First Lieutenant, and was mustcied out jis 
Captain by brevet. 

The war ended, Capt. Wagner returned at once 
to llillslioro, and with eharaeteristie energy began 
the business he has conducted since so succcssfullv. 



October 13, 1871, he was united in marriage with 
IMiss Kliza Bielby, who was born in Yorkshire, 
England, l)Ut was brought by her mother to this 
country when but two years f)ld. Capt. Wagner 
and his estimable wife have three children, two 
sons and a daughter. Leo is preparing himself to 
enter the medical jji-ofessiou as chemist and physi- 
cian, and is now at the Henry Ileil Chemical Works, 
St. Louis. Carl is eng.aged at the marble works 
with his father. Annette is in school ;ind enjoys 
the excellent educational ad\antages now obtain- 
able in llillsboro. 

( )ur sulijet't and his wife are memliers of the 
Lutheran Church, and .are always liist in social 
and benevolent woik. Capt. Wagner wears the 
button of the Grand Army of the Republic and 
greatly enjo\'s the social re-unions (if the order. 
He is identilie.l with the ^I. W. of A., No. 183, 
and IS also a member of Alt. iNIoriah Lodge No. 
51, F. A' A. .AL, and llillsboro Chapt,er No. 62, R. 
A. M. Politically, he is an ardent Repulilican. 
He takes a deep interest in jiuhlic affaii's, is a pro- 
gressive citizen and has been a member of the 
Citv Council. 



/^^, HRISTIAN SH<:i\IKNS. As a tribute to the 
worth and character of the late Mr. Sie- 

_ mens, ffU'inerly one of Soreiito's most in- 
lluential citizens, we incorporate in the lii;c(ii,-i) 
the following brief statement with referenc'c to his 
life. He was born in Hrunswick, (iermaiiy, Octo- 
ber •'!(), 1.S22. In his native land lie grew to man- 
hood, thence in 185(t lie emigrated ti) Amer- 
ica, settling in St. Louis, where for some lime he 
w.as successfully engaged in the butcher business. 

In 1859, Mr. Siemens came to Bond County and 
purchased land adjoining the jiresent village of 
Soreiito. A luishing, energetic man, thrifty anrl 
with excellent business ([ualificatioiis, he accumu- 
lated a goodly amount of proijeity, and at the 
time of his death, which (jccurrcd September 19, 
1891, he left his family in comfortable circuin- 



464 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



stances. Shortly after lie came to America, lie was 
married to Mina Lohniann in St. Louis, Mo., a 
native of Hanover, Germany. Six children were 
born of the union, of whom only one now sur- 
vives: Augusta, wife of John Buckhart, a wealthy 
and influential citizen of Sorento. 

Herman Siemens, a son of our subject, is remem- 
bered as one of the most prominent of Bond 
C'ountj's young agriculturists and business men. 
For some years ho w-as a lumlier morcliant at Sor- 
ento, and lie also served for one year as l)0(jk- 
keeper for the Sorento Coal Company, of which 
his father was a stockholder. His fellow-citizens, 
appreciating the fact tliat he was a man of more 
than ordinary ability, called u])on him to fill sev- 
eral offices of trust and responsibility, and he was 
"an imiiortant factor in local politics. His death 
occurred January 24, 181»l,at tlieage of thirty-two 
years. He was survived liy his wife, who was 
formerly Miss Dora (xracey. Their children are: 
Robert, born September 7, 1887; Earle, born July 
26, 1889, and a daughter now about eighteen 
months old. The memliers of the Siemens family 
have always been strong in their adherence to the 
doctrines of the German Lutheran Church, and are 
equally strong in their suiijiort (.)f the principles of 
the Republican [larty. 



■ > I > ' p ^ > > ■' 



1^^ LEE ELLIOTT. Sorento is truly of musli- 
i.^ room growth, scarce numbering in its his- 
tory a decade, and yet so well and thor- 
oughly organized is the town as to com- 
pete successfully in commercial interests with 
many of its older sisters. It commands a s|jlendid 
agricultural district, and the trade enjoyed there- 
from is very large. Our subject, Mr. Elliott, is one 
of the pioneer merchants of the place, and is num- 
bered among the most substantial men here in 
business. He was born in Gr.a3'Son Ciiunty, Ky., 
May 20, 1856, and is the onl}' child of George and 
Lucina (Kessinger) Elliott. 

Our subject's father, (ieorge Elliott, was a lineal 



descendant of Commodore J. D. Elliott, who was 
second in command under Perry in his memorable 
flglit on Lake Erie in 181 2, and who succeeded to the 
office in 1813, and was in command of the Philadel- 
phia IS'avy Yard at the time of his death in 1845. 
The Elliott family was no doubt of Scotch ances- 
try, but the date and the name of the original emi- 
grant is a matter of conjecture, but was, as nearly 
as we can learn, early in the eighteenth century. 

The mother of our subject, Lucina Kessi-nger, 
like her husband, was born in Grayson County, 
Ky. She was the third child of William L. Kes- 
singer, who was born in Hart County, Ky., and was 
the son of Joseph Kessinger; the latter in turn 
was the eldest son of one Solomon Kessinger. he 
being the son of Mathias Kessinger, a German 
nobleman of great prominence and wealth. Solo- 
mon Kessinger w.as born in what is now the pro- 
vince of Bavaria, near the River Khine, in the 
united kingdom of German}'. He was educated 
by his father for a Catholic priest, but before tak- 
ing the vows he became enamored with one Betsey 
Groenwalt, and as the laws of the Roman Catholic 
Church forbade the marriage of the clergy, love, as 
is usual, won the da\', and he forever renounced 
Catliolicism, left his native land, fame and fortune 
behind and came to America, where he met his 
fiance at Baltimore. There they were married and 
at once went to what is now Hart County, Ky., 
whence the Kessinger family in America siirings. 

We have given sufficient outline of the ancestry 
of the Elliott and Kessinger families to show the 
patrician blood that tlows in the veins of the man 
of whom we write. He w.as less than a year old 
when brought to Illinois by his relatives. They 
located at Litchfield, where he was reared. He 
earl}' ap|ilied himself to obtaining a liberal educa- 
tion, which, by hard work and perseverance, he 
completed at the Litchfield Seminary before he 
had reached his nineteenth year. We will not 
attemi)t to follow him minutely for the next two 
j'cars. It is enough to state that from nineteen 
years of age he was employed as a successful 
teacher in the [niblic schools, spending three years 
of the time in Kansas. 

February 27, 1878, our subject was married to 
Miss JIaggie, daughter of Isaac Bishoi), a pioneer 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



465 



of Montgomery County, and a veteran of the 
Mexican War, who died in 1863, leavino a snug 
fortune, a portion of which was inherited by the 
daughter. After marriage Mr. Elliott continued 
to leach, judiciously investing his earnings in land, 
which lirnught him in quite a eoiiifortahle income. 
Witli the proceeds of his investment, in ,Iune, 1882, 
he established himself in business at Hay niond, in the 
northern ))art of Montgomery County, but before 
he had been there long he saw a better liekl for his 
young and energetic mind on what was known as 
Pleasant Prairie, in Bond County, the .Jackson ville 
& Southeastern and Charleston, Neoga & St. Louis 
Railway Companies having formed a crossing. The 
town of Sorento was laid out, and we find that 
Mr. Elliott was among the lirst to establish him- 
self m business in the new place. 

iMoving his stock of goods from Raymond, our 
subject came here with the determination to de- 
velop his interests in jiroportion with the ilevclop- 
nient of the place. In l.S.si, he elected a Iwo- 
stor\ brick building, and therein he is now estab- 
lished in the general mercantile business. He was 
one of the original stockholdei's of the Sorento 
Coal Company, and for four years was a member of 
the Village Board of Trustees. His business in- 
terests are bj' no means confined to the mercantile 
line. He is engaged in the land, loan and insur- 
ance business, and carries on a heavy business in 
liuying and selling grain, and has handled large 
(juantilies of railroad timbers. As he is a Notary 
Public, he is fre(iuently called upon to look up 
and settle estates. Besides giving an able atten- 
tion to these various interests, he is d(^ voting 
much time to improving his beautiful suburban 
farm, where he is extensively engaged in fruit 
t-ultuie. He raises a good class of stock, having 
upon his farm some animals that are well pedigreed. 

Politically, our suliject springs from a long line 
of Whig ancestors, who all became Republicans on 
the organization of the party, and with this ])arty 
he was identified until 1884, when he joined hands 
with the Prohibitionists. Since that lime he has 
thrown all the energy and enthusiasm of his na- 
ture into the balance with his party. He is at 
present a County Central Committeeman and also 
a local manager. He has been a life-long tem- 



perance advocate. In his churcii associations, he 
is a Methodist, and no man in his locality is more 
devoted to the cause of Christianity than is he. 
Greatly interested in Sunday-school work, at the 
present writing he is Township Ch.airman of the 
State Sunday-school Association. Modest and 
unassuming, Mr. Elliott is a man who makes friends 
with all with whom he comes in contact. 



ACOB CRESS, who resides on section 26, 
Butler (Jrove Township, is numbered among 
the oldest of the [lioneers now residing in 
Montgomery County. He was lioni in 
Indiana in 1818 to Jacob and Catlierine Cress, who 
moved from North Carolina to Indiana, and then 
came to Illinois and settled in JMoutgomery County 
the same year our suliject was born. They spent 
the remainder of their days in this county and 
were useful and highly-respected pioneers. They 
left at their death ii large number of their de- 
scendants in this county. Of the large family 
granted to this worthy couple, there are yet liv- 
ing besides our subject: Caroline, who m.-irried 
Daniel Lingofelter, resides in llillslxuo; Sarah 
married Mr. Thomas JMcNitt and makes her home 
in Irving, 111., and Margaret married ;\Ir. David 
Gregory and lives in Irving, 111. 

Jacob Cress was brought to this ccuinty when 
less than a year old, in the year that the then Ter- 
rit(ny of lllinfus was admilled to the Union as a 
State. The public lands had not yet been sur- 
veyed by the Government, and Indians were nu- 
merous. Wild game was very plentiful and settlers 
few and far iietween. Our subject received his 
education in the subscription schools of that 
period. He lemained at home assisting in the 
clearing and developing of the farm liis father had 
secured. 

January 2.3, 1810, our subject chose as his life 
companion Miss Helena, the daughter of the Rev. 
Daniel Sherer, one of the pioneer Lutheran minis- 



466 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRATHICAL RECORD. 



ters of Illinois. As v ears passed by, cliildi'eii jjatli- 
eied around llie liearllistone of our subject and ids 
wife until there were eleven in number, nine of 
whom are yet li^■int;', .as follows: Ahsolom A., a real- 
estate dealer of Ilillsboro, 111.; .John M., engaged in 
tlie real-estate business in Portland, Ore.; .1. I)., 
engaged in grajie-growing near Dinuba. Cal.; 
AVilliam S., who is associated with John M. at 
Portland, Ore.; Samuel E., a hardware merchant 
of Sorento, 111.; Benjamin L., a civil engineer en- 
gaged in mining at Red C'liiT, Colo.; Sophia L., the 
wife of Dr. Blackman, of Dixon, this State; .Joseph 
E., a farmer of Uomona, S. Dak., and Tliomas 
J., who is at home with his parents. Both Mr. and 
Mrs. Cress have been for many years connected 
with the Luthei-an Church of Ilillsboro. 



-«.}.- 



^^>^^<^B 



i— 



*^r A. K. SAWYER, a prominent citizen and 
@/fj| | able business man, successfully ran a gen- 
eral store in Ilillsboro, Ill.,forover twenty 
years. He has now retired from active mer- 
cantile life and devotes his entire time to general 
farming and stock-raising. His beautiful home is 
located about one-half mile east of the city proper. 
The fine and commodious residence which adorns 
the handsome and well-kept grounds is one of the 
most attractive in JMontgomery County. 

Mr. Sawyer was born in Boston, his natal day be- 
ing August 8, 18.'3;3. Amos Sawyer, the father of 
oiu- subject, conducted a bakery in the city so 
famous for its brown bread. But the charms of the 
AVest were more potent than those of the Hub of 
the Universe, as Boston has been frequently desig- 
nated by its ardent admirers, and in the fall of 1842, 
Mr. Sawyer left his Eastern home, and determined 
to win success upon tlie Western prairies. He ex- 
pected to endure some hardships incident to pio- 
neer life, but he intended to enjoy all the comforts 
within his reiicli; a log cabin was not to iiis liking, 
and after his arrival in Ilillsboro ho liad a house 
built in IJoston, and siiipped from there to New 
Orleans, thence by river to St. Louis, from which 



city it was transported by teams to its final destina- 
tion upon the prairies of Illinois. The journeyings 
of this house and its subsequent erection in Ilills- 
boro, were long a theme of interest in the then 
sparsely settled country. The cozy home sheltered 
a happy family'. Mrs. Sawyer (formerly a Miss 
Kendall, of Massachusetts) appreciated the advan- 
tages she had enjoyed, and devoted much time to 
her children. They were five in number. The 
eldest of them was A. A. K., tlie subject of this 
sketch; then came Sarah C, who married the well- 
known i)liysician, Isa.ac W. Eink, M. D; Doctor 
Amos; Juliet, the wife of Jesse K. Phillips; and 
the last, a little one who died. 

A. A. K., who had attended school in Boston, 
finished his studies in the Ilillsboro Academy. At 
eighteen years of age he found employment in St- 
Louis, clerking in the first wholesale grocery house 
established on Second Street. In this position he 
remained two years, then became bill-lading clerk 
on the levee. The business of Chicago attracted 
him thither in 1860. In the (larden City he trans- 
acted a stock and grain business. Two years later 
^Slr. Sawyer went to Pana, III., and from there re- 
turned to Ilillsboro, where he profitably engaged 
in general merchandising many years. 

Our suliject was married October 7, 1858, to 
Miss Sarah Ellen Brewer, the daughter of Judge 
Brewer, one of the early pioneers of Crawford 
County, 111. 5Irs. Sawyer was born October 1, 
1836. This estimable lad3' became the motherof five 
children; the eldest, a promising little lad, died at 
the .ige of six years; Amos and Edgar reside in 
Ilillsboro; the daughter Nellie and the youngest 
son Ilurbert are still with their parents. 

Our subject is the possessor of a nice property, 
owning a store building and several dwelling- 
houses, all in Ilillsboro. His outside propertj' con- 
sists of five valuable farms, ranging in extent from 
eighty to three hundred acres in size. This land, 
all under cultivation, comprises a total of one 
thousand and seventy-five acres. Our subject 
gives his personal attention to all of the farms, 
and is not only a general agriculturist, but is also 
one of the largest stock-raisers of the county. 
Busy as is Mr. Sawyer's life he yet finds time to 
engage in many public and social duties. He is a 



PORTRAIT AND ISKJOKAPII'CAL RECORD. 



4G7 



Mason, member of Mt. Moriali Lodge No. 51, 

llillslioru. Politics occuiiy Imt little of Mr. Saw- 
yer's time, lie is an Iiidepeiulciit and votes aeeord- 
ing to his judgment. 



— ^"4**2* i**J* N 






^\IIARLKS 11. RKU.M. The subject of this 
sketch was horn in St. Louis, Mo., Novem- 
ber 7, 18(;(l, and is the son of Charles and 
Christina (Sienuins) Keuin. The mother of our 
subject was a sister of the late Mv. Christian Sie- 
mans. who was one of the wealthy men of this com- 
munity. 

Our subject's mother dying when he was but 
three years of age, he w.as adopted by his uncle. 
Christian Siemans, who t;ave him a lilicral educa- 
tion, !i home in his famil_y, and the protection 
of a father until he was tvventy-one years old. 
The first position Mr. Reum took in the business 
wfu'ld was with the coal company, by whom he 
was employed fm- a number of years. In the 
spring of 18i)2, he, in partnership with Mr. 
Thom.as Scharf, engiiged in the livery business in 
Sorento, <jf which business they have made a suc- 
cess. 

An important event occnri-ed in the life of Mr. 
Reum in 1884, as it was in that year that he mar- 
ried Miss Augusta Lohmann. She was a niece of 
Mrs. Christian Siemans, but mach' her home in the 
family of Mr. William Scharf. After maf- 
nage the young couple made their home with Mr. 
Scharf, in his ))leasant residence adjoining the 
town of Sorento. Four children have been the re- 
sult of this union, unly two of whc)m are now- 
living. The little ones were Otto, now a boy 
of seven years; ALiry, w'ho died when nearly 
live vearsold; .AlbcM't who is now a boy <>( four 
vears; ;ind .\ugust, who diril when neaily a Near 
old, 

i\Ir. Reum is a .Mason in good standing, and 
niso belongs totheorderof the Knights of Pythias. 
lie is a most excellent business man, capable, in- 
dustrious and eneriietic. In his business career he 



has shown himself to be strictly honorable, trust- 
worthy and plain dealing, and he enjoys a high 
[lersonal standing in this community, in which he 
1^ so well known. 

It is alwaNs a pleasure to the bi<i,ar;iplier to in- 
cor|iorate in his volume the sketch of a man who 
has pi-oved himself the worthy descendant of an 
honorahle family. The household liand of which 
our subject made one ranks among the lirst fam- 
ilies in this part of the State, not only on account 
of the wealth possessed by its licad, but on account 
of its (irestige for social and mental honors, and 
our subject, while devoting himself to the interests 
of his own iinnu'diate family, and desiring no 
public honors, keeps ])ace with the improvements 
going on around him. The (pi.alities of mind and 
character which lu^ has exhiliited throughout his 
life in .Sorento cannot fail to win him the res[)ect 
of those among whom he is known, and make Ins 
ac(iuaintances lifetime friends. Few young busi- 
ness men disjila.y better qualitications to meet with 
success in life, and our subject will certainly reach 
the goal of ambitions 1)V the manly and energetic 
course which he has map[)ed out for himself. 



,TP^, OBERT DIXON. The position of Witt, 
L>r?' III., in a })roductive agricultural region 
1^\\ confers upon it, of necessity, great import- 
"^i^! ance as a market for grain of all kinds, 
and this advantage f)f location is aided b\' almost 
every facility of transi)ortation, elevator capacity 
and other necessary eoiicomitants of agrain distrib- 
uting center. Prominent among the successful and 
tirmly established grain .'ind elevator merchants of 
Witt, stands the lirm of Di.\on & .Shuping, the 
memliers of which are business men of a high or- 
der of attainments. 

Mr. Dixon was born in Coles County, III., .Inly 
17, I81."i, and is a son of William and Susan Di.xon, 
When five ye.ars of age, he was left an orphan and 
as a consequence knows very little of his ancestors. 
It is known, however, that they wx're very early 



468 



POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



settlers on the prairies of Coles County, and it is 
believed that they were of Scotch-Irish origin. 
Left tlius early in life without the watchful and 
loving care of his parents, without a home and 
almost without friends, he was buffeted about with 
no one to si)ealv a kind word to hiin or to give him 
any idea of right or wrong. When he was only 
eight years of age, II. J. Ashmore, a prominent 
and wealthy citizen, interested himself in the wel- 
fare of tlie little orphan, who, even at that early 
age, showed unusual ability and jirecociousness. 
He went to live with his kind benefactor and here 
we find him when tlie clouds of the Civil War be- 
gan to gather. When the first call for three-year 
men was made, lie promptly tendered his services, 
and on the 27th of August, 1861, he enlisted in 
Company B, Fifty-fifth Illinois Infantr}', as a |)ri- 
vate, with Col. Stuart and Capt. McCauley in com- 
mand. He was mustered in at Chicago and sent 
to St. Louis. 

From that point, he went to Paducah, and his 
first baptism of fire came April 7, 1862, at that 
most fearful and l)loody battle — Shiloh. From 
there, he went to Corinth, particii)ated in the siege 
of that reliel stronghold, and afterward was sent 
with his regiment to Memphis, where for a time 
his command went into camp. The next import- 
ant engagement was at Vicksburg, and later an ex- 
pedition up the Arkansas River to Arkansas Post, 
where the army captured the place and about six 
thousand |)risoners. After this, they were ordered 
to Young's Point, opposite Vicksburg, where they 
were engaged in cutting a canal across the pen- 
insula. After this followed the battles of Jackson, 
Champion Ilill, lilack River and the siege of Mcks- 
burg. For more tlian two montlis, his command 
was under the fire of the Confederate guns, and on 
the night of July 3, 1862, just before the sur- 
render, Mr. Dixon stood guard at Cen. Sherman's 
headquarters. He was next sent to Memphis and 
later was in the Atlanta campaign, assisting in 
fighting the battles of Marietta, Lookout Jlountain, 
Kesaca, Dalton, and all the otiier engagements of 
that great campaign. 

After the fall of .Atlanta, Mr. Dixon was taken 
sick and sent to the hospit.al at Chattanooga, where 
he was comjjelle*? to remain for al)out three mouths, 



or until his term of enlistment was out. He was 
discharged October 31, 1864, at Nashville, Tenn., 
and, broken in health, he returned to his home in 
Coles County, where for more than a year he was 
unable to do any manual labor. In the spring of 
1866, he came to Montgomery County and pur- 
chased a farm in Nokomis Township. He followed 
agricultural pursuits very successfully- until 1881, 
when he bought the elevator at Witt, 111. Since 
then he has been a very successful grain merchant. 
About 1888, he was joined by AVilliam A. Shuping, 
and the firm became Dixon & Shuping, and this is 
now one of the solid grain firms in the county. 

Mr. Dixon was married, in 1870, to Miss Lucinda 
Ilouck, a native of Michigan and a daughter of 
Daniel Houck, who was a Pennsylvania Dutchman. 
Mr. and Mrs. Dixon have I)ut one child, a liright 
young lady of twenty summers, who completed 
her education at the Nokomis Iligli School. In 
politics, Mr. Dixon is a strong Republican and has 
held a number of local positions in the townsiiip. 
He is one of the Trustees of the School Board, and 
for two years was Supervisor of his township. He 
is a Grand Army man and a member of the |)Ost at 
Nokomis for the past fifteen 3'ears. 



>|<^E^.^ 



\Ij' ON. ELIZUR SOUTHWORTll. The lum- 
\l]i orable gentleman whose name appears 
(I4V^ above has been for many years one of the 
l|£); prominent legal lights of Montgomery 
County. For thirty-three years he held his own 
among the men to whom reason and equity are 
pre-eminent subjects of study. That his ability 
as a law3'er, his probity and honor as a man, and 
his position in the estimation of his fellow-citi- 
zens are fully assured, is shown by the fad tliat 
from the years 1877 to 1881 he was cliosen to 
represent them as State Senator for Jlontgi^mery 
and Christian Counties. 

Mr. Southworth was born in West Fairlee, Vt., 
in 182S. He is n son of Joseph and Susan (.Jenkins) 
Southworth, llic rurniei- ,■! farmer, ^s hfvye been so 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



469 



many of the geniuses of Hie day and nation, our | 
subject was l)rou<i'lit up as a fanner hoy, and in 
tiie invigorating, wholesome atmosphere of New i 
England farm life developed those traits both j 
mental and physical wliicli have always distin- 
guished him. After acquiring the rudiments of ! 
his education in the district school in the vicin- i 
ity of his home, he was sent to the academy at 
Bradford, and after that to the one at Thedr(.)rd. 

After the age of seventeen, Elizur Southworth 
was engaged in teaching for seven years, and 
doubtless the discipline received during this time 
was of greatest value to him in later years. At i 
the age of about twenty, oiu' subject came West, 
locating first in ^lontgomery County, where he 
was engaged as a teacher, and suljsequently spent 
three years in Bond and Fayette Counties. In 
1850, he went to California, tailing the overland j 
route and equipped with an ox-team and the ne- 
cessary accessories to a "[irairie-schooner" voyage. 
lie started from St. .Tose|>h and wended his way 
via Ft. Kearney, landing at Webbersville, El Dor- i 
ado County. lie had been live montlis on the 
route. (Jn arriving at his destination, lie at once 
began his search for gold at Coloma, where the 
lirst tind was made in l.s4'.l. He continue<l his 
mining operations for fifteen months and llien re- 
turned to his native State via the Nicaragua route 
in lcS,')2, and in 1H.')1 came to Illinois, where he 
was married. While in Illinois, our subject 
had read law under the tutorshi|) of .fudge Gal- 
lagher, of \'andalia, and on returning from Yer- j 
mont, in 18,')4, he resumed his work as a teacher 
and farmer, prosecuting at the same time his law 
studies until IS.'il). when he went to LitchlieUl 
and opened .an ollice and began tlse practice ot 
law. 

With the audacity of youth, our suliject de- 
termined that he could as well take care of two as 
one, and accordingly invited Miss I.anra N. 
Crandall to liecome his wife. The lady was a 
native of liiadford, \'t., and November 1, 1.S.52, 
she consented to become Mrs. Southworth. Her 
husband says of her. in a l)eautiful ti'ibute 
indited from the depths of a full heart after her , 
decease on the 11th of .lanuary, 1892: '"She w.as 
richlv endow<'d with beauty. intel!igenc<'. and all 



womanly virtues, and all these she cheerfully laid 
on the domestic shrine to make a home of love, 
|)eace, and delight for lier husband. Not one 
time or place can I now recall in our long associ- 
ation stained by an Ill-tempered word or an un- 
loving act. Her sympathies were ever enlisted for 
the poor, the weak, the ignorant and the afflicted. 
She would teach her domestics all kindly and 
social duties. Her friendship was loyal, faithful 
and true. Her literary tastes were of the highest 
and purest order. She rarely vit^wed life from any 
other but the bright side. She was a florist appar- 
ently by intuition. It was sometimes said of her 
that she had only to touch the plant and it would 
send forth bloom. She raised them not only to make 
her own home pleasant and beautiful, but she car- 
ried them to the sick to gladden their hearts, and 
to the afflicted whose dear ones had passed awa.y 
they were tiorne in profusion. All her years on 
earth were full of good deeds, and her religion 
was obedience to and love for the commandments 
of 'Him who S|)oke as never man spake.'" It 
would be superlluous to add anything to the trilj- 
ute offered to the memory of this gracious woman- 
hood which was spent by the side and in the 
companionshi() of the one who offers it. Surely 
he knew the richness and benignity of her nature 
better than any other. 

In 1851, our sidiject came to Fillmore Township 
and operated a farm for four years. Five years 
later, on the lirst day of the new year, he came 
to Litchfield and began the practice of the pro- 
fession for which he had long been fltting himself. 
After one year, he was admitted to the Bar at 
Springfield iqion an examination before .Judges 
(iillespie, (). B. Fccklin and Cummiiigs. He prac- 
ticed alone for a number of years, and during his 
thirty-three years' ex|)erieiice before the Bar has 
had few partners. From the beginning his ad- 
vancement in his profession and his popularity 
as a legal man were rapid. As a public-spirited 
and enterprising citizen, he first distinguished 
himself by raising the money to start the Litch- 
field Car Works, that is the * 15,00(1 bonus that 
was required. He was also largely instrumental 
in securing the Wabash Bailroad at this point, 
and the different iiiaiiufacturing enterprises that 



470 



PORTRAIT AND BlOGRAPmCAL RECORD. 



have been started here have, with few exceptions, 
received their impetus from his wise and far- 
reacliing mind. lie is at tlie present time local 
attorney for tlie Wabash road and transacted 
for it llie business of purchasing tliuty miles of 
right of way. It was he who organized the Beach, 
Davis it Co. Hanlv, securing the charter from 
Springfield and becoming a stockholder. He is 
also a Director and stockholder in the First Na- 
tional Bank. 

In early years the municipal honors by whicli 
our subject was crowned were inaugurated- by his 
election as Alderman. In 1881, he was elected 
Mayor of the city, and in 1876, as before stated, 
was elected to represent Montgomery and Chris- 
tian Counties in the Senate on the Democratic 
ticket. During his incumbency of this position 
he served upon the .ludiciary, Charitable and 
Penal Committees. In 1884, he received the 
honoi of a re-election by the Mattering majorits" 
of three thousand. 

Mr. iSouthworth owns property in Litchfield, 
besides having important interests in Hast St. 
Louis and other towns. Since tlie bereavement 
sustained in the loss of his wife, our sul)je(^t has 
been exceedingly alone, for there remained to 
iiim no children, their one and only child having 
died in infancj'. His place of residence is one of 
the landmarks of Litchfield, lie having resided in 
the same for twenty-four years. 



(^^IIOMAS KIRK. Tliere is little need to 
,/^S^ portray the virtues or defend the memory 
^>^0 of this gentleman, for he lives in the affec- 
tion of his family and friends as a devoted hus- 
band, a kind neighbor and piiblic-siiiriled citizen. 
He departed this life on the 27tli of August, 1892, 
and his remains were followed to their last resting- 
place by a large number of those who had for 
many years been his sincere friends. Of him no 
truthful tongue ever spoke ill, for his life pre- 
sented a clear and spotless page of noble deeds 



noblj' done. During the man}' years he resided in 
Pitman Township, he was to the people all that is 
required in good citizenship, public enterprise and 
sympathetic friends. In the love of his estimable 
wife he found his cares lightened, and in the re- 
spect of liis fellow-citizens received the reward of 
his faithfulness. 

Mr. Kirk was born in Lincolnshire, England, 
April 23, 1826, to the marriage of AVilliam and 
Ann Kirk, natives of that country, and was there 
reared to mature years. His father being an agri- 
culturist, the principal part of young Kirk's days 
were spent in the arduous duties of the farm, to 
the detriment of his education. Possessing a nat- 
urally bright intellect and active mind, he was 
mainl\- self-educated and wjvs a student all his life. 
By reading and observation he became thoroughly 
posted on all important subjects, and at the time 
of his death was one of the best-informed men in 
the county. With an idea of bettering his condition, 
]Mr. Kirk decided to come to the United States, and 
in 18.50 he took passage at Liverpool. After being 
on the ocean for fifty-two days he reached New 
Orleans and came up the Mississippi River to Illi- 
nois, where he worked as a farm hand for some 
time. Later, he rented land, and after farming on 
this for some time, bought a farm in Macoupin 
County, and cultivated and improved this for a 
number of years. In the spring of 1865, he sold 
out and came to Montgomery County, settling on 
the farm where his family now resides. 

On the 24tli of May, 1858, he wedded Miss Eliza 
Parker, a native of Kentucky, born in Hardin 
County, April 4, 1834, and the daughter of David 
and Susannah Parker, natives of the Blue Grass 
State. She had two uncles on the maternal side 
in the War of 1812, and both participated in the 
battle of New Orleans. Mrs. Kirk was fifteen 
years of age when her parents removed to Ma- 
coupin County, III., where they were among the 
early settlers. To Mr. and Mrs. Kirk were born 
the following living children: Anna, William; 
Ella, wife of Hev. G. H. Cruzan. of the iMelhodist 
Episcopal Churcli; Elizabeth. John, Charles, Sarah 
and Frank. In 1865, Mr. Kirk with his family 
came to Montgomery County, 111,, and settled in 
Pitman TownshiiJ. He opened up and began de- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



473 



veloping liis farm, and by hard work and energy, 
togetlier with good management, he became the 
owner of one of the finest farms in his section. 

On tliis our subject jiassed tlie remainder of his 
life, honored and respected by all. No better man 
ever made iiis home in the county. In character 
he was generous, free and frank, and as he was 
keenly alive to the sufferings and misfortunes of 
others, no one ever appealed to iiim in vain for 
aid or consolation. In him the community had a 
faithful and unswerving fiiend, ever alert to serve 
its best interest, and generous in his contributions 
toward every movement tending to the general 
advancement, lie was a strong advocate of edu- 
cation and had served as Director of Schools for 
some time, lie was identified witii tlie Repulilican 
party for many years, and was the leading spirit 
ill all worthy movements. He was a man of supe- 
rior intellect, with a gf)od fund of common-sense 
from wliich to draw, and his word was considered 
as good as his bond. He was noted far and wide 
for his integrity- and uprightness, and his death 
was a great loss to Pitman Township. His farm 
consisted of one hundred and sixty acres of land, 
the product of his life's work. 



ON. G. F. COFFEEN. Prominent among 
1^ the successful agricultuiists of Montgomery 
County may be mentioned the name of 
Mr. Coffeen, who, after years of active and 
arduous labor, lias retired from fanning duties and 
is ])assing his time quietly at home in East, Foik 
Townshiii. For years he has occu|)ied a position 
of inlliience in tiie public affairs of this ciimmunity, 
and it is to his excellent judgment, wise foresight 
and general Imsiness ability that man^- of the 
valued publit' imjirovements of tlie township are 
due. He represented hiscon.>tituents in the Legisla- 
ture in 18t)(t, and for many years served :>s Town- 
ship Supervisor, and in these offices, as well as in 
others in which lie w.as (railed upon to serve, dis- 
charged the duties incumlient upon iiim in a man- 
ner eminently satisfactory. 

22 



Born in Watertown, Jefferson County, N. Y., 
.T>ine 19, 1819, our subject remained in his native 
place until he was twenty-five years of age. He 
received his education in the schof)ls of Water- 
town, and afterward aided in the suppoit of his 
[larents. His father, Frederick Coffeen, had been 
a farmer in the early part of his life, but for about 
twenty years kept an hotel in Chauniont, .Tetfersou 
County, N. Y. Henry Coffeen, the paternal grand- 
father, was boiii in New England and is supposed 
to have iieen a native of New Hampshire. 

Through his maternal ancestors, our subject 
traces his descent from one of the heroes of the 
Revolution. His grandfather, Abiier Hubbard, 
was a conspicuous figure in the stirring scenes of 
1776. He was a man of indomitalile will and cour- 
age, and rushed to the defense of Ids country 
with such pati'iotic spirit, that he w.as immediately 
made Captain. It is one of the family traditions 
that he was the first Captain mustered in as such. 
Hubbard's Bay, Jefferson County, N. Y. was in 
later years the home of the old veteran, and there 
his daughter Elcena was born, and (lassed her 
youthful days. She was united in marriage with 
Frederick Coffeen and bore him four daughters 
and two sons, all of wlioiii lived to maturity. The 
faithful mother passed to her rest in Cliaumont 
at three-score years and ten. Mr. Coffeen spent 
his last days in Omar, Jefferson County, N. Y. 

G. F. Coffeen, the eldest son, was married in 
New York State to Miss Mar.v A. Bell, a native of 
Herkimer County, liut of German ancestry. Our 
subject and his wife came to Illinois in 18.')2, and 
located iiermaiiently wliere he ikiw resides. The 
town of Coffeen was founded by our subject and 
it was not long before settler.-! began to arrive 
there from various parts of the country. In a 
short time Mr. Coffeen, who had owned the entire 
town site, had sold most of the lots. He still re- 
tains a good frontage, upon which he has erected 
a number of buildings. To him alone is due the 
fact that the line of the Toledo, St. Louis & Kan- 
sas City Railroad passes through the village of 
Coffeen. The idea met with a great deal of op- 
position from )iarties who wished to secure the 
road at other points, but his ()erseveranee, energy 
and tact were successful in removing all opposition, 



474 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRArHICAL RECORD. 



and the railroad followed the right of way staked 
out by himself. 

The entire property once owned by Mr. Coffeen 
had an area of eleven hundred and forty acres, all in 
one body of land. The greater portion of this tract 
is now owned by the children of our subject, their 
father retaining but two hundred and forty acres. 

Mrs. Coffeen, who had shared the privations of 
pioneer life with her family, and who had also 
lived to enjoy their prosperity, left many to mourn 
her loss when she died in 1891. She had been the 
mother of three children, two daughters and a 
son. One child preceded her to the better land; 
those who survive are Frederick 11., and :Mary,the 
wife of John McLain, of Montgomery County. 

Mr. Coffeen has lived to witness man3' wonder- 
ful local and National changes. Neighbors to 
whom in early life he tendered a helping hand 
are man}- of them no more; the customs and times 
are changed; the primitive homes are giving place 
to handsome residences, but with all the vanishing 
old landmarks, Mr. Coffeen still clings firmly to 
the wise teachings of early youth. Away back in 
old New York Stale fully fifty years ago, his father 
voted the Democratic ticket, and to-day his son 
still endorses the same platform. He has always 
been a public-spirited citizen, ready and willing to 
aid in any enterprise established for the public 
good. 







^ILLIAM LAWS. This gentleman is one 
/// of many who have spent the greater por- 
J^xy tion of their lives in developing the coun- 
try, that their children and grandchildren might 
enjoy the advant.iges which thev themselves were 
denied. In trnlli, we to-day are the "heirs of all 
the ages" and profit by the labor and self-denial of 
the hard-working classes of time past. Mr. Laws 
was born in Todd County, Ky., November 15, 
1826, and is a son of Fielding Laws, who was born 
in North Carolina. In that Slate the elder Mr. Laws 
was reared hul he later moved lo Kentucky. About 
1830 he came to JJond County, 111., took nj) land 



from the (TOvernnicnt, and made his home on the 
same until his death, when seventy-four years of 
age. The grandfather was a native of Virginia, in 
which Slate he passed his entire life. He was of 
Irish descent. 

Fielding Laws married JNIiss Betsey Vaughn, a 
native of Kentucky, where she was reared and 
married. .She lived to be about sixty-eight years 
of age. Her father was a native of the Emerald 
Isle and when a young man came to America. 
Our subject's father and mother were the parents 
of eleven cinhh'en, nine of whom grew to man- 
hood and womanhood, married and became heads 
of families. One of these has since died. Our 
subject, the eldest of these children, was about 
four years of age when he came with his parents 
to Bond Count}-, 111., and his schoolboy days 
were spent in the little log selioolho\ise of pio- 
neer times. He remained with his parents until 
twenty-two years of age, and in May, 1848, was 
married to Miss Mary M. McCaslin, a native of 
Caldwell County, Ky., born November 26, 1828. 
She came with her parents to Bond County, 111., 
when about three years of age. Her father, 
Thomas McCaslin, was born in Kentucky, as was 
also her moliier, Sarah (Robinson) McCaslin, and 
both were of Irish descent. 

After his marriage our subject located on the 
section where he now lives and began life in a 
very primitive and simple vvay. He first built a 
small log house, 16x16 feet, of round logs, with no 
windows, puncheon floor, clapboard door, and 
mud and stick chimney. He had sixty acres of 
raw land to start with, one yoke of oxen and one 
cow. Although this young couple started out 
under rather unfavorable auspices, they were am- 
bitious and frugal, and by hard work and good 
management soon began to gather around them 
many of the comforts and conveniences of life. 
Mr. Laws is now- the owner of three hundred acres 
of land, all under cultivation, and in connection 
with agricultural pursuits is eng.aged in stock-rais- 
ing. He and his estimal)le wife have made all 
j their jiroperty by their own exertions and can 
now pass tlieir declining years in ])eace and com- 
fort. 

As the years crei>t along, ciiildren gathered 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



475 



around the fireside, three daughters and six 
sons, who were as follows: Sarah K., wife of 
.lohn McLean, of Bond County, 111.; Tiiornas G. 
(see sketch); Lueinda M., widow of (). F. Lewy, 
of East Fork Township; Alfred W.. of Bond 
C(iunty, 111.; Fielding F., also of Bond County, 
III.; Mary E., wife of Charles Binder, of East 
Fork Townslii|); Ch;iiies L.. also of East Fork 
Township; William II. and Albert P. (deceased). 
All these children were reared on the farm 
where our subject now resides and wiicrt; he 
has spent the principal [lart of his life. He is 
one of the first-class citizens of tiie county, and 
during iiis long career here nut a word could 
ever be said against his honesty and uprightness. 
He has been a Republican since the war and has 
held a numlier iif otlicial positions in tiie town- 
ship. He is interested in educationni matters and 
was School Director for some time. In every 
laudable enterprise he takes an active part and is a 
public-spirited citizen. 



^^EORGE W. FLINT, a manufacturer of 
III f-—, brick and formerly a dealer in lumber and 
^Ciii^l coal, is numljered among the leading busi- 
ness men of Greenville, Bond County. A native 
of St. Clair County, III., he was born February 6, 
1H47, a son of William and Mary ((iedney) Flint. 
His parents were botli natives of England, uho, 
immediately after their marriage, crossed the 
broad Atlantic to the United States. This w.as in 
the sjjring of 1842. They located in LeI)anon, St. 
Clair County, and Mr. Flint eng.'iged in farming. 
In 1848, he purchased a farm about four miles 
north of i^ebanon, and there engaged in agricul- 
tural pursuits for nearly twenty years. He then 
purchased a farm of two hundred acres of land, ad- 
joining the corporation limits of the city, and 
made his home thereon for ten years. In 1H78, Ik^ 
removed to the city and his death occurred the 
same year. In politics, he was a Bepiiblicaii, was 



a lifelong member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and was a highly respected citizen. 

The Flint family numbered nine children, eiglit 
of whom are yet living: Mrs. JIary Nelson, of 
Jlissouri; Edith M., wife of Kev. L. W. Thrall, of 
(ireen ville; (icorge W.,of this sketch; Kev. John W., 
Presiding Elder of the Mellmdist Episcopal Church, 
with a residence in Cnrboiidtih'; .I;inies (i., a nian- 
ufacturingciiemist of Decatur, III.; Henry H., vvho 
resides in St. Louis, where he conducts a grocery 
store; Samuel L., a salesman in tlii' jewelry house 
of Brooks Bros., of St. Louis; and William W., 
who is general .agent for a Chicago publishing 
hfiuse, and resides in Lebanon. 

In the usual manner of farmer lads, our subject 
was reared to manhood. His education w.as com- 
pleted by his graduation from McKendree College, 
of Lebanon, in 1872. Previously he had taught 
for a time, and after his graduation engaged in 
teaching one term. For a year after finishing 
school, he remained at home, and then started for 
Iowa, where he engaged in teaching .and fanning 
near Glenwood, about eighteen miles s(uith of 
Council Bluffs, where he remained three years and 
a-half. He then returned home and later went to 
Mt. Olive, ]M.acou|)in County, where he conducted 
a lumber yard and a drug store in company with 
his brother, James (i. This i)artnership continued 
for five years and they did a successful business. 

During his residence there, Mr. Flint was mar- 
ried, in May, 1881. to Miss Anna E., daughter of 
T. C. Kirkland, of Litchfield, .Montgomery County, 
III. One child graces their union. Earl W., born 
November 3, 1.S8."). In I882, Mr. Flint came with 
his wife to (irecnville. and engaged in business 
here. 

In his political views, our subject is a Kepub- 
lican, and socially, is connected with the Knights 
of Pythias and the IModeru \\'oodnien. In the 
Methodist Eiiisoopal (■liurch he is a faithful and 
consistent memlier, and serves as one of its Trus- 
tees. In the ten years of his residence in Green- 
ville he has built u|) an excellent trade, and by his 
courteous treatment of his jiatrons and iiis fair 
and honest dealings, he is now doing a fine busi- 
ness which yields to him a good income. He is 
recognized as one of the siibstanlial, prominent 



476 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and representative citizens of the community, and 
has the confidence and high regard of all with 
whom business or social relations have brought 
him in contact. 



Wj OHN CLANTON, an early settler, prosper- 
ous farmer, and influential citizen of Rip- 
ley Township, Bond Count}-, 111., w.as born 
in North Carolina, October 2, 1821. His 
parents, .James and Elizabeth (Anderson) Clanton, 
were .also natives of Ninth Carolina, but were nn- 
doubtedlj- of Scotch descent. Early in their mar- 
ried life the}' removed with their family to Illi- 
nois, and in 1829 located near Greenville, wliere 
an uncle, .John Ellis, had settled in the early d.ays 
of 1816, up to which time the history of the State 
is one continued narrative of contests with the 
savages. 

I^or twenty-six years the parents of our subject 
together shared tlie toil, cares and privations of 
pioneer experience, and then, in 1847, the faith- 
ful, loving wife and mother passed awa\'. In 
March, 1860, after nearly two-score years of con- 
stant residence, the father died upon the place 
north of Greenville, where he had settled with liis 
family when young, ambitious and energetic, 
.lohn Clanton was the sixth in a faniil}- of ten 
chiUlren, of whom but three are now living. 
Chapman died in Bond County, when lie was about 
forty-five years of age; Wesley passed away in tlie 
old liome, in .lanuaiy, 1873; Alfred lives in Siioal 
Creek Townshiji, Bond County; Enos A. died in 
1873; Mary is the wife of David 15. Wood, a suc- 
cessful farmer of Macoupin County, 11!.; Martiia 
married Ilezekiah Campbell, and died in Bueiianan 
County, Mo., in 1880; Sina died in blooming 
niaideniiood, at seventeen j-ears of age; Edwaid 
lived to be nineteen years old; (Tcorge Wasliing- 
ton, witli the promise of a briglit inanliood. died 
at seventeen years^of age. 

Our subject, .John ( lanton, grew up to manhood 
on liis father's farm, lie was early trained in all 



agricultural duties, and was for years employed 
in assisting his parents, during boyhood gaining 
the crude education offered by the subscription 
schools of those pioneer days. With the excep- 
tion of a short time, when Sir. Clanton was en- 
gaged in the farm-implement business in Poca- 
hontas, he has devoted his life to the tilling of the 
soil. In 1847 he purchased his present farm, and 
with knowledge gained by years of experience, 
coupled with wise and energetic maliagement, 
soon brought the land up to a high state of culti- 
vation. Carefully preparing the soil, ploughing, 
sowing, and reaping the harvest, toiling faithfully 
year after j'ear, our subject has won a competence, 
and now, at three-score years and ten, can look 
with satisfaction upon the record of his useful, 
upright life. 

In 1846 Ml'. Clanton was united in marrisige 
with Miss Margaret Ellen Gracy, who died five 
years later, leaving one child, a daughter, Mary. 
This daughter lived to become the wife of Jacob 
File, and died in 1876. On June 24, 1852, our 
subject was a second time married, being united 
with Miss Martha File, the daughter of Moses 
File, one of the highly respected pioneer settlers 
of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Clanton have had 
nine children, of whom seven survive to cheer the 
declining d.ays of their parenls. by wiiom thej' 
were so tenderly reared and carefully trained in 
the necessary duties of life. Elizabeth, the eldest, 
who was born April 12, 1853, died February 10, 
1873, in the prime of youth and hopeful anticipa- 
tions of a useful life; James, born Jnl}^ 26, 1854, is 
a prominent and well-known resident of Ripley 
Township; Moses F., who was born May 8, 1856, is 
a prominent citizen of Pocahontas; John Henry, 
born May 9, 1858, now makes his home on the 
farm with his parents; Julia A., born October 26, 
1860, is tlie wife of James AVilleford, a prosperous 
young farmer, and son of Willis Willeford, one of 
the substantial aud wealthy men of his section of 
the country; Lydia A., born January 28, 1863, is 
tlie wife of lleiuy llofrman, of Columbia, 111.; 
Martha N., who was born March 24, 1865, died 
September 9, 1875; Dora F., who was born No- 
vemlier 2, 1869, married John MoUet, March i7, 
1892, a successful farmer of Pierron, 111.; and Em- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ily E., born May 9, 1876, is now engaged in study at 
Cohunbia, where she is receiving excellent educa- 
tional advantages. 

Beside their own large family Mr. and Mrs. 
Clanton adopted and carefully reared two chil- 
dren: Marion ('. Kile, who was boiii February 4, 
1868, and died I<"cbruary 21, 1.SS1; and .lulia M. 
File, born January 30, 1873, who now resides with 
her adopted parents. Mr. Clanton, his wife and 
children are all highly respected, and occupy |)0- 
bitions of prominence and intluence in the county, 
where they are widely known among a large circle 
of acquaintance. Our subject and his wife are 
members of the Primitive Baptist Church, and 
have ever been found among the active workers 
of the organization. The^' are both interested in 
the matters of the day, and are advocates of prog- 
ress and refoini. Mr. ClantC)n has never been 
prominently connected with political life, l)Ut he 
is an adherent of the Democratic [iiinciples and 
votes the ticket. 



_y 







RS. M. J. 8TAI1L. The husband of her 
whose name introduces this sketch was 
born in Chodziesen, Prussia, in 1833. He 
received his edueati<in in (Terinany, and 
after eomiileting the school course insisted on by" 
the laws of his native land, devoted himself to the 
trade of a coppersmith, which he mastered before 
reaching his majority. Soon after attaining to 
years of manlKKul, Mr. Stahl left his native home 
to seek his fortune in the I'liited State.--, and lo- 
cated at Blooinington, 111. lie continued to gain 
his living at his trade, and by thrift, energy, and 
perseverance soon accumulated enough to wairant 
him in choosing a life (lartner and com[)aiiioii. 
Fortune favored him in the [lerson of JNIiss Mary 
J. Waldron, who liecaine Mrs. Stahl in 1.S.56. 
Four years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Stahl 
moved from Bloomington to Litchfield Township, 
at \\hich i)lace Mr. Stahl became engaged in the 



hardware and farm-implement business, in which 
line he was a very successful dealer. The first 
store site on which he conducted this enterprise is 
the one now occupied by INIessrs. Schmit A 
Loescher. It was here that Mr. Stahl met with one 
of the most disastrous experiences that marked his 
mercantile life. The store took fire and the build- 
ing and stock were completely destroyed. He soon 
replaced the structure, however, and on the .same 
spot there stand to-day the four brick stores 
which surround the First National Hank, and the 
two grocery stores which front on State Street. 

Mr. Stahl found time to engage in other pur- 
suits beside his hardware business, and became 
largely interested in the Litchfield Car Works, of 
which comi)any he was Secretary and Treasurer. 
He was a prominent Mason and an acti\e member 
of the Presbyterian Church, occupying the posi- 
tion of Folder at the time of his death. Mr. Stahl 
was a sc)und Re[)ublican, a man of inlluence in the 
community, and one who bore an im[)ortant share 
in the enterprise which tended to the growth, wel- 
fare and prosperity of the town wherein he si)ent 
so many years of his life. His death occurred on 
the 22d of May, 1887, and his loss was mourned 
by a large circle of friends, wiio esteemed him as 
a man of more than ordinary character and worth. 
The bereaved family consisted of a wife and three 
children. The eldest daughter, Susan Amelia 
Goodell, died ten months after her father, and the 
son, Louis, departed this life at Los Angeles, Cal. 

Mrs. Stahl and her daughter. Miss Jennie, are the 
only surviving members of this prominent family 
so closely connected with the lii>tory and welfare 
of Litchfield. Their home is one of the most 
beautiful residences in the town, situated at the 
junction of Jackson and Harvard Streets. 

Mrs. Stahl was born in Alliany County, X. V. 
Her [larents were Aaron and Susan (Blooming- 
dale) Waldron. She received her education in 
Albany, and made her home llieie until the death 
of her parents, when she moved to Bloomington, 
III., at which place she became the wife of Mr. Stahl. 

Mrs. .Stahl is a woman of much ability and 
many noble tiaits of character, nuiiiberiin>- among 
her friends the best pcojtle in Litchfield. Her re- 
ligious belief is that of the I'resb\'tcri;ui Church, 



478 



POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and her attitufie toward her fellow-creatures is 
that of one who delights in doing a kindly act 
when opporlunitv offers. The bereavements of her 
life have been many, and her many charitable acts 
and kindly impid.^e.s are the best proof that she 
her.<elf has felt the chastening rod, and is there- 
fore capable of feeling for others. 






|=n 



"S] 



^-f^ 



[^_ 



"m 



^ jV-ILLIAM A. II0WP:TT. The philosophy 
\/\Jll ^^ success in life is an interesting study. 
^^^ In whatever pursuit individual effort is 
directed, it should be entered into with a theoreti- 
cal knowledge acquired at the proper schools, fol- 
lowed by a practical application, to prepare one to 
successfully assume the responsibilities that follow. 
In choosing a pursuit in life, taste, mental gifts, 
opportunities and disposition to labor shonld be 
considered, as ever}' 3'oung man who has any am- 
bition to l)ecome a resi)ectable and useful citizen 
desires to succeed in his chosen vocation. The 
business opportunities in this country are great 
and are open to all, whetlier native or foreign 
born, and all a man requires is to determine what 
his natural gifts and capacitj- will enable him to 
successfully grasp and prepare himself therefor, 
and when thus determined, industriously perse- 
vere, observing courteous and honorable methods 
in all relations, and success — the aim and object 
of all — will be the reward. A narrative of success 
in life affords a lesson from which others ma}' profit. 
In Flora, Clay County, 111., there was born 
on the 18th of June, 1860, a boy who grew to 
sturdy manhood, ambitious to excel in the pursuit 
of ills choice, lie inherited the mental activity 
and indomitable will of his father, Hon. Edmond 
L. Ilowett, who was born in New York and who 
had come to Illinois when a j'oung man. The fa- 
ther located in the county seat of Clay Count}' 
and became one of the most distinguished lawyers 
of the State. He practiced his profession for about 
twenty years and during Gen. Grant's administra- 
tion was appointed United States District Attor- 



ney for tiie Southern District of Mississippi, and 
removed to that State in 1868. At the expiration 
of his term he was appointed Judge of the (.'han- 
cery Court in the same State. 

Many important decisions were rendered by 
Judge Ilowett during his honorable incumliency of 
the judicial position, but it must suffice to say that 
they were invariably distinguished for their sound 
judgment, strength and legal research; and in prac- 
tice,after finishing his term, he has fully sustained 
his high reputation for the ingenious, eloquent and 
effective advocacy of his client's case. Personally, 
Judge Ilowett is a dignified, cultivated gentleman, 
yet, withal, genial and api)roachable, and is es- 
teemed by a wide circle of friends, among whom he 
is recognized as a man of absolute integrity and a 
representative and valuable citizen. He is now 
retired from the active duties of life and has a vcr}' 
attractive home in Flora. Clay County, 111. He is 
of English descent, his parents having been natives 
of that cuuntr}-. Judge Howett married i\Iiss Sarah 
E. Corrie, a native of Lawrence, 111., where she was 
reared. Her father, Andiew Corrie, was born in 
Scotland, and her mother, whose maiden name was 
Elizabetli Schrader, was born in Germany. Mrs. 
Howett died in Clay County in 1882. She was 
widely and favorably known for her many excel- 
lent and womanly qualities, and was a devoted wife 
and mother, a true and faithful friend. Of the 
seven children born to tliis worth}' couple, two sons 
and five daughters, only two besides our sub- 
ject are now living: Agnes, a teacher in the Girard 
public schools, and Alice, wife of Jesse T. Cress, of 
Hillsboro. 

William A. Ilowett is a worthy son of a wortii}- 
sire. He is the eldest child born to his parents, 
and his first scholastic training was in the schools 
of his native place. There he was reared, with the 
exception of about six years spent in Mississippi, 
and was graduated from the High School of Flora, 
111., in 1878. Following this, he taugiit scliool for 
two years, and in 1880 entered the Normal School 
at Valparaiso, Ind., where he studied science and 
elocution, being graduated in 188'2. lie began the 
study of law with his fatlier when seventeen years 
of age, and in 1882 he went to Hillsboro, where lie 
entered actively into the practice of law. His ad- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



479 



vancement was veiy rapid, and in a comparatively 
short space of time he not only secured an exten- 
sive practice, but also an acknowledged high posi- 
tion at the Bar. Learned in the law, refined, sound 
and clear in his reasoning,a wise counselor and an 
eminently successful advocate, his services are 
sought liy the highest class of clients in the most 
difficult and important cases. 

On the 16th of February, 1882, he was united in 
marriage witli Miss Ida M. Rutledge, a native of 
Hillsboro, 111., born February, 16, 1862, a daughter 
of Thomas .L Rutledge (deceased), who w.as a na- 
tive of Hillsboro and a very prominent attortie^' 
of that city. Three children have been born to 
this union, all sons, liarle, Roy and Wilbur. Mr. 
Howett is a warm adherentof the Democratic party 
and in recognition of his efforts and services in its 
behalf, he was elected to the office of Ma3or of 
Hillsboro in 1889 and held the position until 1891, 
and was the first and only Democratic Mayor of 
the city since the present organization. He lias 
been Master in Chancery of tlie Cu'cuit Court for 
four years and still holds that responsible position. 
Socially, he is a member of Montgomery Lodge 
No. 40, I. O. (). F., and Lodge No. 226, K. of P., 
in which latter order he is Deputy Grand Chancel- 
lor of the State. 







,EORGE PERRY SWAN. As might natur- 
ally be expected, mention is made in the 
IHJ present work of many citizens of Mont- 
gomery County now prominent in their different 
callings, but none more so than the unusually suc- 
cessful agriculturist, George P. Swan, who pos- 
sesses an excellent judgment and much good sense 
on matters jjertaining to the farm. In every- 
thing connected with the growth and prosperity 
of the county he has taken an active interest, and 
as a tiller of tlie soil he stands in the foremost 
ranks. 

Born in Perry County, Mo., .Ian nary 26, 18.S0, 
our subject is the son of Richard and Catherine 



(Barber) Swan, natives of Maryland and North 
Carolina respectively. The elder Mr. Swan moved to 
North Carolina when a young man, was married 
there, and in 1827 moved to Missouri. He lo- 
cated in Perry County, took up land from the 
Government, and remained there until his death, 
when sixty-two years of age. The grandfather, 
Charles Swan, was also born in Maryland and 
fought bravely in the Revolutionary War. It is 
supposed that the maternal grandfather, .1. T.nrljcr, 
was a native of the old North State. Tiie mother 
of our subject died on the home farm in Mis- 
souri when sixty-four years of age. 

Thirteen children were born to this worthy 
couple, all but one growing to mature years. 
Twelve married and reared families, but all are 
now deceased except one daughter and two sons. 
George Perry Swan, the tenth in order of liirth, 
passed his boyhood and youth in his native 
county, and supplemented an cducati<in received 
in the common schools by attending a select 
school. He remained on the home place and as- 
sisted his father in the arduous duties of the farm 
until the latter's death. He was married in Mis- 
souri, in 185.5, to Miss Mary L. Villar. a native of 
Perry County, that State, where she was reared 
and educated. 

Following his marriage, Mr. Swan located on 
the old homestead in Perry County, and was ac- 
tiveh' engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1865, 
when he moved to Montgomery County, III. He 
located on section 20, one-half mile from where 
he now resides, and in 1875 he built his present 
residence. He has a very attractive rural home 
and is a thrifty, industrious tiller of the soil. His 
land is naturally very productive, and he h.as 
spared no ()ains to make it more so, all his etTorts 
being directed towards its improvement and de- 
velopment. He is an exam])le of what may be ac- 
complished when the spirit of determination is 
exercised in connection with the everyday affairs 
of life. His farming operations have resulted 
satisfactorily, and he is now in a position to en- 
joy all the conveniences and many of the luxuries 
of life. 

Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Swan, five sons and live daiiahters, one of whom 



480 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



died in infancy. Tliey are as follows: Joseph 
C, of Hillsboro; Frances !>., deceased; Charles 
E., also of Hillsboro; Eddie, deceased; Mary C, 
wife of George Moore, of East Fork Township, 
this county; Martlia A., wife of James Barringer, 
of Hillsboro; Emma C, wife of John Stephens, of 
East Fork Township; Nettie and Etfle, at home. 
Mr. Swan is the owner of two hundred and ten 
acres of land and, in connection with tilling the 
soil, is engaged in stock-raising. In politics, he 
is a devoted Democrat and has held a number of 
township offices, being Road Commissioner and 
School Officer. 



ELMER W. DENNY. It is probable that the 
gentleman of wlioni we write has an experi- 
i ence extending over as many years in this 

particular locality as almost anyone in the county, 
for he was born in Shoal Creek Township, Bond 
County,' September 18, 18;3(). He is a son of James 
E. and Mar}' P. (White) Denny. The father was a 
native of North Carolina, born in 1796, and in 
182.3 he married Mary P. White, also a native of 
that State. The two families had emigrated to 
Illinois in 1813, although tlie White family settled 
in JIadison County. James Dennj- died in 1843 
and his wile passed away while still on the old 
homestead, December 2, 1883. 

Mr. Denny was one of twins who were next to 
the youngest of a family of eight children. Frank- 
lin S. was born in October, 1825, and lives at 
Springfield, Mo. John W. was born June 18, 1828, 
and went to California with the memorable '49ers. 
He there made a permanent residence and died 
January 18, 1878. Oliver ('., who was born April 
30, 1830, and served for three j'ears in the late 
war, now owns the old homestead; James E., who 
was born June 12, 1832, is a wealthy mine owner 
and politician in California; Juda A.,who was born 
November 4, 1834, married John N. Prickett and 
died December 29, 1883, leaving two children, 



AVilliam S. and Addie. Our subject's twin brother, 
Theron L., died in the army October 4, 1861. Will- 
iam IL, who was born April 26, 1842, is a farmer in 
Southwestern Kansas. The father of tliis family 
was a man of considerable education for an early 
day, and was more or less engaged as a teacher. 

In 1871, our subject purchased two hundred and 
sixty acres of land which adjoins the old home- 
stead and has since bent his energies to its cultiva- 
tion. Most of his attention is given to the stock 
business, which he finds very profitable, as there is 
not so much liability of loss from conditions of 
weather and similar causes. 

Our subject was married January 26, 1868, to 
Miss Ann Finle^-, who, like himself, was born 
in this county. Their children are as follows: 
Ledger Tiieron, born April 16, 1869, is now a bus- 
iness man of Sorento; Elmer AV^alter, born July 3, 
1871, has just completed his education and is at 
present at home; Anna S., born July 25, 1873; 
George O., January 5, 1876; Cordelia Jane, Febru- 
ary 2, 1878; and William Chalmer, March 26, 1881. 



M^^^<m 



G 






EORGE W. MU^LER. The subject of this 
sketch is a pleasant and progressive young 
merchant of Pierron, Bond County, 111., 
where, if he has not yet become a millionaire, there 
are those who believe that he deserves such for- 
tune, and are willing to i^redict a prosperous fu- 
ture for tiie original of this notice. 

Mr. Miller was born near Ilarrisburgh, Pa., Sep- 
tember 11,1 853, and one of the solid old farmers of 
Dau|iliin County, of the same State, was his grand- 
father Miller. Some writers have declared tliat 
there is more peace and plenty to the square incli 
in portions of Southern Pennsylvania than in all 
of the Union put together, and perhaps the native 
Pennsylvanian thinks this true when a good case 
of homesickness overtakes him. At any rate, the 
grandparents of our subject did not care tocliange 
their lot, but the father of our Mr. Miller was in 
poor health, and in 1867 came West to try a change 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



483 



of climate. He settled in Wisetown, in this count}', 

but (lied in 1883, aL tlie age of sixty-nine years, 

liavini*- l)een a member of the denoiiiination know n 

as the '•Cliiu'ch of (iod." 

The mothei- of our suliject was Klizabeth (Foose) ; 

ISIiller; she was a native of retins\ Ivania, and 

■ 
is now living in Wisetown, in this county, at 

Ihc a(l\anced age of sevent\-three years. She 
becauie the mother of live cliildren: Andrew ,]., 
Katie, .lames D., Lizzie .T. and (Jcoige W. Our 
sut)ject came here when he was thirteen years old, 
having attended the district schools of his native 
place when in the State of Pennsylvania, and w.as 
given eight months in the High School at Litcli- 
lield, Montgomery County, 111. 

When nineteen years old oui- sul)ject went to 
clerking in a store at Wisetown. and followed this 
occupation for ten years, in this time woi'king at 
Wisetown, Oreenville, Cai'lyle and Pana, thor- 
oughh' learning the mercantile trade. Aliouttlns 
time he considered that he was well enongh 
schooled in the business to embark for himself, 
and he went into partncrsliip with 1'. I>. Harris, 
The tirm remained V. B. Harris >Vr Co. for a 
space of three years, and at the end of that time 
onr suliject sold his interest there and came to 
Pierron, in 1885, and on .September 14 opened a 
general store, which he continues to conduct at 
the same place. 

On November 3, 188;j, Mr. ]\Iiller was married 
to Jliss Mary Field, who was boin in Waterloo, 
Monroe County. III., and tlirec little ehihlrcn came 
to bless the home of our subject. 'I'hey are: Mal- 
vern, Natalie and Urban. Natalie died October 1, 
18;i"2, at the age of almost four years. The busi- 
ness which Mr. Miller linds most prolitable is a 
general stock. His goods are of the best kind and 
of the greatest variety, including di-y goods, gro- 
ceries, boots and shoes, furnishings and notions. 
He takes great pride in his business, as ho has built 
it uii himself, almost unaided, and fr(]m a begin- 
ning so small that it fiecomes unneccss.'iry to men- 
tion it. 

Mr. Miller is a l)em<_>crat in his political faith. 
He was appointed under (iarheld's administration 
to be Postmaster, and held the position for two 
years, and was re-appointed in 18;M) under Presi- 



dent Harrison. He wished to resign this last 
spring, but so popular is he with all classes.that he 
was not permitted to do so. As Justice of the 
Peace he has given good satisfaction for the 
past two years. The Inde|)endcnt Order of Odd 
F'cUows claims liim as a member in the lodge 
at Greenville. Probably there is no man of his 
age who is so popular in Pierron, and he has won 
this kind feeling by his genial manner and good 
judgment in his mingling with his fellow-men. 



11 



ROF. CALVIN I5LIZZAKI). the efticientand 
honored .Superintendent of the schools of 
Bond County and a well-known resident of 
Greenville, was boi'ii iSIarch 12, 1852, in 
Dudleyville, Mills Township, and is a representa- 
tive of one of the earliest families of the county, 
his grandfather, .lames Blizzard, becoming one of 
its earliest settlers. He was a native of Kentucky 
and was of English descent. Tiie [larents of our 
subject were Rev. .lohn .1. and Catherine (McAd- 
ams) Blizzard, and both were born in this couiitw 
The father was a farmer and school teacher, and 
was also a local minister of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church. The last sermon he preached was a 
funeral sermon. He filled the office of .Tustice of 
the Peace and took quite a iiromineiit part in poli- 
tics. During the war he was a stanch friend of 
the Union. He died .June Hi, 1883. His wife 
still survives him and yet makes her home in this 
countj'. Their family numbered ten children, 
seven of whom are yet living: Calvin, II. Wal- 
lace, Lucy H, .lohn J., Solon E., Fannie and Stella. 
Prof. Blizzard remained on the home farm until 
seventeen years of age and then began clerking in 
Dudleyville. After attending McKendree College 
fcu' a year he began leaching, and followed that 
profession continuously from 1871 until Decem- 
I)er, 18'.H). He w^as employed for eight yearsin one 
school in Mills Townsliiit, and is an able instruc- 
tor as his long-continued service in various 
localities fuUv testilies. 



484 



PORTRAII AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



On the 4 til of October, 1875, Prof. Blizzarrl was 
married to Miss Maggie White, of Dudleyville, 
daughter of Leandcr and Rebecca White, early 
settlers of this county. Tlie}' have a family of 
three children: Alvin, Effie and Nellie. 

In 189(1, Prof. Blizzard was elected to his pres- 
ent oUice. He has one hundred and eight teachers 
under his charge and his time is fully taken up 
with ofiice work when not visiting these. His able 
administration of affairs has won him high com- 
mendation. He has held the office of Township 
Trustee for six years, and was the first Clerk of 
Mills Township. Socialh', he is a member of the 
Knights of Pythias and of the Modern Woodmen, 
and in religious belief is a Methodist. He united 
with the church when sixteen }-ears of age and is 
one of its faithful and consistent members. For 
some sixteen years he has served as Superintend- 
ent of the Sunday-school. He takes a prominent 
part in all public affairs calculated to benefit the 
town, count}- or State, and is one of the wide- 
awake and progressive young citizens of the com- 
munity, who has the high regard of all with whom 
he has been brought in contact. 



^ AMES W. JETT, Esq., is one of the promi- 
j nent and wealthy farmers of Bond County, 
^-v^ I who has seen almost all of the wonderful 
!^^' development and growth of this section, 
and one who has been an important factor in the 
same. He was born in Oldham County, Ky., De- 
cember 27, 1824, and was the son of William B. 
Jett, who was a native of Virginia. 

Grandfather Jett was a farmer in the Old Domin- 
ion, a descendant of English ancestors, and a sol- 
dier in the Revolutionary War, and in that State he 
died at an advanced age. Tiie father of the gen- 
tleman of vvhora we write was a shoemaker by trade, 
and he settled in Kentucky when a young man 
and there he married. He landed in this county 
between Christmas and New Year's Day in 1834, 



having journeyed from Louisville to Evansville 
by boat and from there by wagon to this place, 
where he took up Government land and settled on 
"Jett Prairie," in Mulberry Grove Township. 

Here he built a double log house and followed 
shoemaking for some time but finally devoted all 
of his strength to farming. He improved eight^^ 
acres here and had it well cultivated at the time 
of his death in 1854. The mother of our subject 
was Clarissa Parker, who was a native of Indiana 
and became the mother of ten children, five of 
whom grew to maturity: George W., Owen, Henry 
C., Elizabeth and James W. The mother died at 
the age of forty-eight years and both she and her 
husband had been members of the Christian 
Church. In his political faith, he had been a AVhig 
and was a man who commanded the respect of all. 

Our subject had reached the age of ten years 
when he came into this county, and his first school- 
ing was received in a little log schoolhouse, where 
the chimney- of mud and sticks was picturesque 
even if it did smoke, and the writing table was a 
slab against the wall. The logs had no chinking 
between, so there was no difficulty about venti- 
lation in those days, and happy and hearty were 
the pupils, and from out that simple sclKiolhouse 
have gone men like our subject, strong and sensi- 
ble in mind and capable of conducting the affairs 
of the county and State. 

Deer and wild turkeys did not have to be sought 
in those days, as they came by the cabin doors, and 
often has our subject shot both without leaving 
home. Wolves were troublesome and destructive, 
and precautions had to be taken against them. 
The marriage of our subject took place in 184 7, 
when Miss Pernecy Smith became his wife. She 
was born in Kentucky, came here about 1840 and 
became the mother of eleven children, of whom 
the following yet live: George W., Henry B., Isaac 
N., Mary J., Laura, Agnes and Ida. John, Thomas, 
William and a daughter unnamed are deceased. 

Our subject settled upon his present farm in 
1849, and built a small frame house and has here 
made all of the improvements. He has been a hard 
worker and now has the satisfaction of owning 
three hundred and thirty-five acres of land, upon 
which he has raised great crops of grain and many 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



48r) 



head of stock and has made a success of both hav- 
ing fully i)i-oved the fertility "f Illinois land in 
Bond County when properly cullivated. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Jett are members oC the 
Christian Churcli. and to its sujjport he has liber- 
ally contributed. In his political lielief our subject 
is a Re|)ublican of the deepest dye. He knows 
well why that is his faith, for no one in this [lart of 
the State is better posted u|)on public questions. 
The political history of the country with which he 
is familiar would do credit to the position of a 
statesman. jMr. .lett has tilled some of the impor- 
tant offices of the district, as for three years he was 
a Justice of the Peace and has been one of the 
School Directors. 



-^^ 



IEORGP: J. KAMSKY. The subjeet of the 
li ^w) P''''**6"t sketch is a member of the firm of 
^?^Si Ramsey it Austin, dealers in hardware, 
queensware, glassware, stoves and ranges, located 
near the corner of .State and Ryder Streets, where 
he h.as been in business for the past five 3'ears. 
lie is well known in commercial circles in Litch- 
field. 

The subject of this notice was born in Slifliin 
County, Pa., Se|)tember 17, 184i), and is the son of 
William 11. and Mary dearer) Ramsey. The occu- 
pation of the father was that of a carpenter, but 
the tastes and abilities of the son did not lie in the 
same direction. The latter of)tained his educa- 
tion in the schools of Lewistowu, Pa., and when he 
completed his studies there he began to tliink of 
the future. The advice of Horace flreeley to the 
3'oung man to go West and grow up with the 
country has had an effect upon the future of many 
of the youth of the country, and may have had 
something to do with the destiny of JMr. Ramsey. 
He came West and located in Harvel, in this 
county. He left his parents in Pennsylvania, 
where they still reside, and faced the future with 
not a verj- large bank account behind him. 

Mr. Ramsey located in Harvel in 187,") and went 



into the drug business, which his industry, com- 
bined with a pleasant iiersonality, made lucrative. 
He devoted his time entirely to drugs for about 
seven years, when, .as the place grew, he added a 
large stock of hardware and connected the two 
lines. He managed thus for about three years 
when an oi)portunity came for him to sell, and in 
1887 he sold out this luisiness entirely and moved 
to Litchlield. He there formed the present [lart- 
iiership with Edward Austin, and established the 
business which the firm has siiiee made so success- 
ful. Before leaving Harvel, Mr. Ramsey had to 
l)art with appreciative fellow-citizens, who had 
honored him with the ollices fif President of the 
Town l>(jard and Township Clerk. 

( )nr suliject was united in marriage to Miss 
Laura T. Austin, of this [ilace, who is the ilaugli- 
ter of E. K. Austin, an old and respected pioneer. 
The marriage took place November .5, 1H79, and 
two children have been added to the household, 
Stella and Retta. ]\Irs. Ramsey is a native of 
Mississippi, and her father came to this county 
very many years ago, and occupies a fine farm two 
miles out of town. 

Mr. Ramse^y does not coneern himself at present 
about politics. He has many luisiness interests 
now that require his time and attention. He is a 
stockholder in a threshing machine comiiany, and 
also in the Eirst National Lank ever since its or- 
ganization. Socially, he is a member of the Modern 
Woodmen of America, and is a man who takes a 
deep interest in matters of improvement. He has 
earned all of his possessions liy his own exertions, 
having always been energetic and industrious. 



%^ ON. FRANK R. MILNOR, the efficient 
li Mayor of the city of Litchfield, was born 
^^ in Alton, 111., December l.i, 1846. His 
(^) father,.!. ('. ]\Iiliior, w.-isa native of I>ristol, 
Pa., where he was reared and educated, but finding 
the East too constricted for his reipiirements, he 
sought the West to found for liimself a new home. 



486 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Alton, 111., was the cily uf his selection, and here 
he became identified witli the interests of the city, 
and one of the leading men in it. In this city 
Mr. Milnor married Henrietta Piatt, a native of 
Tro}', N. y., who came to Illinois, with her parents, 
in 1832. Mr. Milnor died in 1852, leaving three 
children to the devoted mother, who still survives. 
These children were: George C, now deceased; 
Charles W., who is now engaged in the hardware 
and implement business in Alton; and Frank R., 
of Litchfield. 

The subject of this sketch was educated at the 
public schools of Alton, at Lombard University, in 
Galesburg, 111., and at the Commercial College of 
Cincinnati, after which he entered the drug store 
of A. S. Barry, of Alton, where he continued for 
some time to the satisfaction of his employers. 
However, he desired a wider field, and saw that 
the town of Litchfield would soon be a city of im- 
portance, and that those who came in on the 
ground floor would grow with the town and be- 
come identified with its interests. In 1866, he en- 
tered the drug store of Dr. .lohn Grinsted, of 
Litchfield, and remained with him a number of 
years, becoming a thorough druggist and chemist, 
and finally succeeding him. In 1872, he moved to 
his present location, the corner of State and Rider 
Streets, known as "The Corner Drugstore." Here 
he placed a heavy stock of drugs, adding wall pa- 
per and books later, the prescription department 
having always been a specialty. For the past 
twenty years his business has been very successful 
and he is now one of the oldest druggists in the 
city. 

Mr. Milnor is a public-spirited citizen and has 
various interests outside of his drug business. He 
is Vice-president of tlie Sparks Milling Company, 
of Alton, which is a large corporation, producing 
eight hundred barrels of flour per daj'. Many of 
the various improvements which have been under- 
taken for the advancement of the city have re- 
ceived his assistance and liavo been encouraged by 
his influence and his money. While in the Coun- 
cil he was a member of the School Board, and did 
much for the encouragement of education. He is 
a member of Litchfield Lodge, Elliott Chapter, 
and St. Omer Coiiimanderv. 



Mr. Milnor was married to Miss Mary Sparks, of 
Alton, the daughter of D. R. Sparks, April 23, 
1874. They have two children: Mabel Sparks, 
aged fifteen years; and George Edwin, aged eleven 
years. Mr. Milnor was elected to the City Council 
in 1878, serving two years. In 1885, he was 
elected Mayor of tlie city of Litchfield, and again 
elected April 5, 1892, on tiie Republican ticket by 
a large majority. This testifies to his i)opularitj' 
as a trustwortln- and enterprising man. 



^|[_^ ENRY W. WAIT. A very prominent 
|i farmer residing near Greenville, Bond 
County, 111., is the subject of the present 
sketch. He belongs to a family that made 
its mark in the State during its earliest settlement, 
and has been a resident in this place since 1835. 

Henry W. AVait was born in Boston, Mass., Oc- 
tober 4, 1834. His father, William S. Wait, was 
born in the State of Maine, March 5, 1789, and his 
grandfather, Thomas B. Wait, was also a native of 
Maine. The family was descended from Welsh par- 
entage, and the grandfather was a printer by trade 
and was also a publisher in Portland, Me., and in 
Massachusetts, to which State he removed about 
the year 1800. His death occurred in Boston 
Mass., when he was quite old. 

The father of our subject learned tlie printer's 
trade with his father when he was quite young 
and was connected with the business until the win- 
ter of 1817-18, when he came to this county 
and to St. Louis on a prospecting trip. He then 
entered land near Ripley, in this county, and re- 
turned to Boston in 1820, and brought his family 
to the new country near the great liver. Many 
preparations were made, for this was the breaking 
up of old ties, but at last all was packed and loaded 
upon the w.agons, the last farewells were said, and 
the famil}' started out into the wilderness. Some 
months were consumed in this trip, and when the 
location was reached the cabin of logs had to be 
erected. This was soon done, and here the family 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



487 



lived until 1824, when the father returned to the 

busy life of the city and continued in his former 
iMijiinoss of |)iibli.shing; liowever, he fame back liere 
in 1835, shii)[)iug liis houseliold goods via New Or- 
leans, l)ul he with the family came down the Ohio 
l\iver and up to St. Louis. The Indians were in 
the country wlien he first came here, deer roamed 
at will, and wolves howled outside the cal)in at 
nigh I. 

fpon liis return in 1835, Mr. Wait settled just 
south of (Jreenville, where he owned about seven 
liundred acres, and he developed the most of it. 
He was a good business man, raised a great deal 
of stocU u|)on the land, and was considered one of 
the liest-in formed men of his time and place. He 
was rc(iiiired to till many of the positions in the 
county, and his death occurred .Tuly 17, 18G5. A 
IJepublican in politics after the formation of that 
party, he became prominent in public affaiis. His 
interest was great in political matters, and he wrote 
many articles for the leading journals and was 
tendered the nomination for A'ice-president on the 
Liberal ticUel in ISII, but woulil not accepL His 
acquaintance with prominent men throughout the 
State was large, and he did mucli to advance the 
growth and development of the country. He was 
the author of a great part of the constitution of 
the State of Illinois which was adopted in 1848, 
and spent much time at the State Capitol, but not 
in seeking himors for himself. 

The mother of our suliject was Sarah Newhall, 
who was boi'U at Salem, Mass., January 31, ITUT. 
She was the mother of eight children, six of whom 
she reared. Louisa and Mehitabel (deceased), 
Louisa (second). William, Richard, Spurzheim, 
Henry W. and Foster. The mother died De- 
cember 11, 1865. Our subject came here in 1835 
with his parents when a babe, and w.as [)artially 
educated in the pioneer schools, conducted on the 
subsi'ription plan, but received most of liis instruc- 
tion at home undei' pi'ivate tutors. He spent two 
terms at Marshall, 111., in a private academy. In 
his childhood he remembers seeing great droves 
of deer and [irairie chickens in flocks. 

Mr. Wait of this notice lived at homo until the 
death of bis parents, and assisted in man.ag- 
ing the estate, but since that time he has made his 



home mostly with his sister, Mrs. Ravold, who lives 
east of Greenville. He has three hundred acre.s 
of land and has farmed it, and has raised great 
numbers of sheej), but in late years he has rented 
his farm. In [lolitics Jlr. Wait is a Republican 
and has served as Coiint3- Surveyor, being in office 
during 1864-65. Several township offices have 
been under his care .as Clerk and also Collector, 
and he has seen a great deal of the growth of 
the county. 



.{t__i{.;;:=^ 



^■^ C. STREHLK, one of the progressive young 
business men of the city of Litchfield, Bond 
County, is engaged in the boot and shoe 
''' trade at No. 34 State Street, where he is 
doing a good business. Mr. Strehle is a native 
son of the State and county, having first seen the 
liglit in this town October 31. 1868. He is a son 
of .losej)h and Minnie (Weipert) Strehle, the 
former of whom was born in (Termany, but came 
here in 1866, where he conducted a bakery and con- 
fectionery business until about two years ago. 

The educational facilities of the common and 
Higli Schools of Litchfield were taken advantage of 
liy our subject, and when he had completed his 
education he began his business career in the 
jewelry h(nise of C. W. Beardsly, and continued 
there for five and f)ne-lialf years. He learned the 
trade and is capa!)le of carrying it on himself if 
the necessity should arise, but about the time he fin- 
ished his education, the Litchfield Paint and Color 
Company was formed and he was made Secretary. 
He withdrew from this company .lune 1, 1892, to 
engage in liis jjresent business. 

()ur subject is ((iiite a g-ood musician, and for a 
time was one of the memliors of the city band, and 
its .Secretary and Treasurer, but his increasing 
duties made it necessary that lie should resign 
from that organization, that he might give his un- 
divided attention to his business. It is safe to 
predict a successful future for Mr. Strehle, as he is 



488 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



doing a large business in his line with a steadily 
increasing trade, and lie promises to be one of the 
leading business men of the city in the near 
future. 



i-€+^§ 



'\f|' ACOB HALLER, one of the most prominent 
farmers and bank officials of Nokomis, 111., 
^^ was born in Ross Count\", Ohio, June 25, 
^f) 1834, a son of Henry and Sarah (Shipm.an) 
Ilaller, of whom but little is known more than the 
mere fact that the father was born in Schuylkill 
County, Pa., in 1805, and was of German ex- 
traction. The mother was a native of New Jersey 
and about the year 1832 they took up their resi- 
dence on a farm in Ohio, on which Jacob w.as born. 
At the .age of eight j-ears he w.as taken by his par- 
ents to Illinois, but his advantages for acquiring 
an education on the then wild prairies of Illinois 
were few. When about eighteen years of age, he 
w.as seized with the California gold fever, and, 
making his wiiy across the plains and mountains, 
he opened and 0))erated a mine that gave him 
good returns. He soon discovered a gold mine in 
another direction, for grain of all kinds wtis very 
high at that time, and he thought tiiat in the fer- 
tile valleys of California it might be raised in 
abundance and to good financial advantage. Ac- 
cordingly he opened up a farm in the Sacramento 
Vallc3', some thirty miles from S.acramento, and 
for eleven years operated it with great success. 
Having accumulated quite a fortune, he then re- 
turned to Illinois, and in 1867 located on a farm 
in Audubon Township, Minitgomery County, 
and in 1880 became the owner of the line farm of 
four hundred and forty .acres on which he is at 
present residing. It is just outside the thriving 
town of Nokoinis. 

Mr. Haller is one of the founders of the Nokomis 
National Bank, is yet a stockiiolder and has been 
one of its directors since its foundation. It is one 
of the substantial financial institutions of the 
county, its methods are .safe and conservative, and 
its credit is of the highest character. It does a gen- 



eral banking business, its financial status is highly 
satisfactory and this has been largely brought 
about by the etticiency and sound judgment of its 
directors. Mr. Haller is a far-seeing man of busi- 
ness, is an able financier, and is ever upright and 
honest in his methods. He was married in Cali- 
fornia in November, 1859, to Miss Ann Abraham- 
son, who was born in Norwaj', but who became a 
resident of this country when a child, having been 
brought here by her uncle, as both her parents had 
been drowned by accident in their native land. The 
union of Mr. and Mrs. Haller has resulted in the 
birth of ten children, but only six are living at the 
present time: Catherine is the wife of Dr. G. .S. 
Easterd}', of Albuquerque, N. M.; Caroline is the 
wife of D. H. Best, of Nokomis; Nancy, Eugene, 
Millie and Milton are at home. In his political 
proclivities, Mr. Haller is a strong Prohibitionist 
and upholds that party by vote and influence on 
every occasion. He is strictlj' temperate in every 
respect, supports all measures of mor.ality and ed- 
ucation, and is considered one of the most useful 
and progressive citizens of the county. He is a 
member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, 
and he and his wife are members of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, in which they have "kept the 
faith" for many years. 

He is what may be termed the "poor man's 
friend," for he luas assisted many to gain a foot- 
hold on the ladder of success, and has given lib- 
erally of his means to enterprises that have com- 
mended themselves to his excellent judgment. 
His mother died in Ohio when he was a child, but 
his father passed from life in California in 1875. 






•5"i"J"i-F 




\'/ ON. G. L. ZINK, one of the first and prom- 
inent attorneys of Litchfield, has made this 
beautiful little city his home since the 
montii of M.ay, 1806, when he entered its 
confines and opened his office. The modest shin- 
gle bearing his name soon <langled at the front 
door, inforniiiig the passer-by that within was one 



rORTRAlT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



489 



who could settle all legal questions, and from 
that day to this Jlr. Ziiik lias been considered the 
authority on all questions [lertaining to liis profes- 
sion. 

JMr. Zink claims Ohio as his native State, 
having lieen born in Steubenville, a son of James 
II. Zink, the popular furniture dealer of that 
t<iwn. Our subject received his education in 
his native county, after which he began reading 
law, but the outbreak of the Civil War interfered 
with his studies, as he enlisted as Sergeant-Major 
ill the Fifty-second Ohio Infantry, Col. Dan Mc- 
Cook in coniinaiid, which regiment served in the 
Army of the Cumberland in 18t;2. Mr. Zink par- 
ticipated in the campaign with Bragg that closed 
with the battle of rerryville, October 8, 1862. 

In the summer of 1803, Mr. Zink was discharged 
for disability and returned home to resume his 
law studies. As a result of these studies he was 
admitted to the Bar in the spring of 1864, having 
earned the mone.y necessary for the pursuit of 
these studies by teaching school for some years. 
In the fall of 18G4, our subject re-enlisted in the 
One Hundred and Fifty-seventh Ohio Infantry, a 
one-hiiiidre<l-day regiment, with Col. Geo. McCook 
in command, and served until the regiment was 
mustered out in the fall of that year. 

The brave soldier, our subject, removed to lUi- 
luiis in the autumn of 186.5, and spent the winter 
•following teaching school at Gillespie, Macoupin 
County, and in the month of May, 1866, he came 
to Litehlield and has since made it his home. Soon 
after his arrival he formed a partnership with Maj. 
Robert McWilliams that lasted for three jears un- 
der the linn name of McWilliams & Zink. After 
the dissolution of that lirni, Hon. E. Southworth 
was his partner for some time, but he now contin- 
ues alone and has a nourishing practice, embracing 
business in all the courts of the State. 

In 1878, Mr. Zink was elected to the Thirty- 
first (ieneral Assembly of the Lower House. He 
was a member of several committees, among them 
the Committee on Hoads, Highways and Bridges. 
The bill with wliicli his name waj principally con- 
nected was the tine law with regard to roads, which 
bill was passed, and Mr. Zink deserves much credit 
for aiding in the compilation of so able a law. In 



the Presidential election of 1872, he was one 
of the Electors on the Greeley or Liberal-Re- 
liublican ticket. Since that time he has cast his 
inlluence on the side of Democracy. 

Mr. Zink was married to Miss Gillie Cave, of 
Litchfield, and one bright, promising child, a son, 
George, has been added to their fireside. He is 
still at school, striving to emulate his honored fa- 
ther in studiousness. Mr. and Mrs. Zink are very 
pleasant people, whom it is a pleasure to know, and 
they are charming hosts to their large circle of 
friends. 

In addition to all his other responsibilities, Mr. 
Zink is the attorney for the Oil City Loan and 
Homestead Association, and the President of the 
Litclitteld Thresher Company, which was estab- 
lished in 1891 and gives employment to (juite a 
large number of men. In all of his enterprises 
he has carried the principles of his life with 
him and has ever endeavored to deal with his 
fellow-men as he would that they should deal b^' 
him. Such men are a credit to any community 
and country. 



\l ^ ENKY A. BEST, one of the largest farmers 

ji in Nokomis, Montgomery County, III., and 
■"^ a leading citizen and ex-soldier of the late 
war, is a native of the Sucker State, having 
been born in Staunton, Macoupin County,December 
23, 1837. He and his twin sister, Fannie, were 
the eldest of seven children born to Joseph and 
Annie (Blevins) ISest, their names being as fol- 
lows: Henry, Fannie, Mary, |^Harvey, Ephraim, 
Benjamin and Michael, only four of w'liom grew 
to maturity. The Best family dates back to the 
early history f(f the country, as we find that the 
grandfather of our subject, IMichael, a descendant 
of Scotch and Irish ancestors, was liorii in North 
Carolina before the Revolutionary War, and 
Joseph, the father of our subject, was born in the 
same State in 17i)6. \e\-\ little inft)rmalioii can 



490 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



be gained of the early history of the Blcvins fam- 
ily', except tliat thoy liad resided in the eountr3' 
many generations, the first trace lieing found of 
tliem in (ieorgia. 

Soon after the liirtli of Josepli Best in 17'J6 the 
family' removed to Tennessee, where Mieliael liest 
became a large planter and slave-holder, remain- 
ing there until 1818, when he and his famil_y of 
ten children, namely: Joseph, Ephraim, James, 
William, John, Wesley, Fannie, Mary, Felney and 
Polly, came to the wild prairies of Illinois, locating 
near the present site of Staunton, which was tiien 
only uncultivated land. Only three of this pio- 
neer family survive at this time, namely: Wesle_v, 
who resides at Abilene, Kan.; Fannie, a resident 
of Missouri; and JMary, who lives near the old 
homestead in Macoupin. Michael, the father of 
these children, died on the place where he settled, 
about 1842 or 1843. Joseph, who was the oldest 
child and the father of Henry A., of whom we 
write, died there in 1888, aged ninety-two years, 
the mother having died in 1851. 

Henry Best, our subject, grew up as did other 
farmer boys in the early days of Illinois, helping 
to develop a prairie farm and receiving but a 
limited education. In 18.58 he was married to 
Miss Margaret Powers, a daughter of Hamilton 
Powers, who was one of the pioneers of Macoupin 
County and a prominent farmer. Soon after his 
mai'riage Mr. Best located on a farm across the 
line in Madison County, not far from Staunton, 
and here is where we find him wiien the clouds of 
our great Civil War burst with all their fury upon 
our fair land. Promptly he tendered his services 
to defend his country and the Flag he loved, and 
August 2, 1861, Ills name appeared on tlie rolls of 
Company F, Third Illinois C'avalr3'. The regi- 
ment was organized at Camp Butler under Col. 
Carr, a regular army officer, and with D. R. 
Sparks as Cai)tain of Company F. They soon 
proceeded to St. Louis, thence to Jefferson City 
by boat, and across the country to Springfield, by 
way of Bolivar, to pursue Gen. Price, who was 
holding that part of the state. The following 
winter they were encamped at Rollo, Mo., but in 
detacliments most of tlie time, d(>ing guard duty. 
The company to whicli our subject belonged was 



at Cuba for some weeks on guard duty, and in the 
spring they liroke camp and started for Springfield 
again. On the long march from Rolla to Spring- 
field our subject was taken sick with rheunialism 
and had to be left at Lebanon, in charge of Ser- 
geant Iliggins. Some three weeks later they 
started to rejoin tlieir regiment, which they 
learned had driven Price into Arkansas and was 
now in the vicinity of Pea Ridge. The Sergeant 
and Mr. Best found the regiment in Cross Hol- 
lows and the following day the battle of Pea 
Ridge took place; and, although our subject was 
very weak from recent sickness and his long ride, 
he was in the heat of the memorable battle. 

Immediately after this liattle Mr. Best's regi- 
ment was ordered out witli three days' rations on 
a scouting expedition through Arkansas and Mis- 
souri; they were gone thirteen days, having many 
skirmislies with stragglers from Price's army, and 
upon IMr. Best's return to his regiment's camp at 
Keitlisville he was again prostrated and for some 
time his life hung by a slender thread, it not be- 
ing thought possible for him to recover. Upon 
advice of liis physician he was induced to accept 
his discharge, which was granted on the surgeon's 
certificate of disabilit}', April 14, 1862, and here- 
turned to his home near Staunton. For the follow- 
ing year he was a physical wreck, but finally.health 
began to creep back, and, .as he w.as not able to op- 
erate his farm, he engaged in the milling business 
with a man named Wall, under the firm name of 
Best it Wall. This business continued for two 
years, since which time he has been engaged in 
farming and stock-raising. Until 1876 he re- 
mained in Madison County, and then removed to 
Nokomis, where he had previously (lurchased land. 
At this place he now h.as an extensive farm of 
some five hundred acres, adjoining the city of 
Nokomis. In 1879, he, in company with D. H. 
Zepp and James Young, purchased the vacant lots 
and land in Nokomis and this brought all of them 
a small fortune. Mr. Best has been very success- 
ful in all of his undertakings, except, perhaps, 
when, in 1882, be spent a year in Dakota, opening 
up a large farm. This did not prove a paying 
investment at the time, but he still owns a large 
tract of land there. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



491 



He is an ardent Republican, an enthusiastic 
Orand Army man and is tlie present Commander 
of Cottingliani Post of Nokoniis. Ho is also a 
liig-h-degrec Mason, being a Knight Templar, and 
has fiih'd manj- of the local otlices. Mr. Best is a 
iiigh-minded and courteous gentleman wlioin it is 
:i pleasure to meet. He and liis wife have lieen 
tiie parents of eleven children; one of these, 
named Essie Belle, died when a eliild. The living 
are: Otilio, the wife of G. T. I\hoa(is, of Pierce 
Cit3', ]Mo.; David H., of Nokomis, married to Car- 
rie Hallen, daugliter of Jacob Ilallen, the wealthy 
farmer and banker of Nokomis; Owen M., living 
at home; Annie iM., the wife of a Mr. Alexander; 
1\. X., married to Etta Stubbs and is an extensive 
farmer at Wington, S. D.; Dente, a resilient of 
Ohlman, 111.; Fay R., at Wington, S. I).; and Rob- 
ert M., Meda, Bessie, Mabel and Howard are at 
home. Ilarvey Best, a brother of our subject, en- 
tered tlie Union army in Company L, Third Illi- 
nois Cavalry, and died in the service at tlie age of 
nineteen years. 



v-^ '! 



i>-^^<i 



(g>w_ 




'-<S) 



YRUS ALFRED PRESTON. In presenting 
to the readers of this volume a biography 
of Cyrus Alfred Preston, a prominent 
young business man of the thriving town of 
Nokomis, it is but mere justice that piompts us to 
go liack to the early history of his family to see 
what manner of man he is, to sec whence tiie fam- 
ily came and what they have done to dihtiuguish 
themselves. We find that he is a direct descend- 
ant of John Preston, who was of English extrac- 
tion, but born in County Deny, Ireland. He was 
there married to Miss Elizabeth Patten, of County 
Donegal, Ireland. 

In the year 174(i, John Preston with his wife 
and three children emigrated to the New World, 
settling in A'irginia, and at tiie May term of court 
he presented himself and made oath that at hia 
own ciiarge he tiad imported himself; ?]lizabetli, his 
wife; William, his sou; and Letilia and Ann, his 



daughters, immediately from Ireland into the 
colony of Virginia,. and that this was his (irst eff(n't 
ill procuring Ins right in order to partake of His 
Majesty's bounty in taking up land. 

In order to show what a host of heroic men and 
beautiful and talented women came from this one 
immigrant, the honors they held, the interniarri.ages 
they made, and the influence exerted liy thi^ni in 
every department of American politics and society, 
we propose to groiip together a few of the descend- 
ants of John Preston, the Irish immigrant. In 
addition to the three children brought with the 
parents from Ireland two more were born. These 
children are sketched as follows: William married 
Miss Susannah Smith. He was a member of the 
Virginia House of Burgesses, and died of a wound 
received at Guilford's Court House. Letitia mar- 
ried Col. Robert Breclvcnridge, of Virginia, and af- 
ter his death immigrated to Kentucky. Margaret 
married the Rev. .bihn I'.rown, a graduate of 
Princeton College and a iirominent Presbyterian 
minister in Virginia and Kentucky. Ann married 
F'rancis Smith, of ^'irginia, and went to Kentucky, 
where one of lier daughters married James Blair, 
Attorne.y-General of that State and father of 
Francis P. Blair, Sr. 

In the direct line of descendants of this distin- 
guished family we find John Bieckenridge, a United 
vStates Senator, and Attorney-General in Jefferson 's 
Cabinet; James Breckenridge, a member of Con- 
I'ess from Virginia; and Elizabeth Breckenridge, 
who married Col. Samuel Meredith, a nephew of 
Patrick Ileury. .lolin Brown represented Kentucky 
in the A'irginia Legislature and was three times 
elected State Senator from Kentucky. He married 
the daughter of the Rev. John Mason. James 
Brown was the first Secretary of State of Kentucky 
and for many years was United States Senator 
from Louisiana; he married the sister of BIrs. Ileuiy 
Clay. John Preston was a inenilier of theMrginia 
Legislature and for many years Treasurer of that 
State. Francis Preston was a member of the Vir- 
ginia Senate, a Congressman from that State and a 
Biigadier-(iener:d in the War of LSI 2. He mar- 
ried the daugliter of (Jen. William Campbell, the 
hero of King's Mountain and a niece of Patrick 
Ileiiiy. William I'reston was a Captain iu Gen, 



23 



492 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Wayne's array. James Patten Preston was a Col- 
onel in the United States army and a member of 
the Virginia Senate; he also served as Governor of 
of that State. 

Letitia Preston married .John Floyd, Governor 
of Virginia, and was the mother of John B. Floyd, 
who was also (Governor of Virginia. Thomas Lewis 
Preston was a member of the Virginia Legislature, 
a Major in the War of 1812, and married a daugh- 
ter of P2dmund Randolph, who was a member of 
the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and At- 
torney-General of the United States. John Smith 
married the first white child horn in Kentucky. 
Margaret Howard married Robert Wickliffe, of 
Kentucky. Letitia Lreckenridge married Peter 15. 
Patten, of Niagara Falls, who vvas Secretary of 
"War in John Quincy Adams' Cabinet and a Major- 
General in the War of 1812. 

Joseph Cabell Breckenridge, of Kentucky, was a 
member of the House of Ivepresentatives and also 
served as Seeretar}' of State for Kentucky. John 
Breckenridge was a professor in Princeton College 
and married a daughter of Dr. iSIiller, who was 
President. Robert J. Breckenridge w;is a distin- 
guished theologian and pulpit orator. William L. 
Breckenridge was President of Danville College, 
Ky. 

John B. Preston was for many years a member 
of the Kentucky Legislature. William C. Preston 
was President of the College of South Carolina, 
United States Senator in that State, and was one of 
the foremost orators and statesmen of the land. 
John S. Preston was a member of the South Car- 
olina Legislature, a Brigadier-General in the Con- 
federate army and married a daughter of Maj.- 
Gen. Wade Hampton, Sr., then tiie wealthiest 
plantation owner in the United States. AVilliain 
Ballard Preston was a Member of Congress from 
Virginia and Secretary of the Navy in President 
Taylor's Cabinet. He was a member of the Con- 
federate Senate and was a distinguished orator and 
lawyer. Margaret B. Preston married Gen. Wade 
Hampton,. Jr., who was Governor of South Carolina 
and a I'nited States Senator from that State. 

Elizabeth McDowell married Thoni.as Hart Ben- 
ton, the distinguished United States Senator from 
Missouri. James McDowell was a member of Con- 



gress from Virginia and Governor of that State. 
Henrietta Preston married Albert Sidney Joiinston, 
the noted Ceneral of the Confederate army. 
William Preston was a Member of Congress from 
Kentucky, served as Lieutenant-Colonel in the 
Mexican War, was United States Minister to Spain, 
and a Major-General in the Confederate army. 
John B. Floyd was Governor of Virginia, Secretary 
of War in President Buchanan's Cabinet, and a 
General in the C'lm federate army. 

Necketie Floyd married John W. Johnson, Uni- 
ted States Senator from Virginia. John T. L. 
Preston was a Colonel in the Confederate army 
and a Professor at the Virginia ]\Iilitary Institute. 
Francis P. Blair, Sr., was veteran editor of (Jen. 
Jackson's organ, and Thomas F. Marshall was a 
Congressman and eloquent orator of Kentuck\'. 
Alexander K. Marshall was also a .Member of Con- 
gress from Kentucky. Agatha Marshall married 
Chancellor Caleb Logan. Edward C. Marshall was 
a Member of Congress from California. ISLiry W- 
Parker married Thomas L. Crittendon, Secretary 
of State from Kentucky. Susan S. and Sally 
Buchanan, Ijoth daughters of Francis Preston, mar- 
ried their two cousins, James McDonald and John 

B. Floyd, both Governors of VirgiTiia, both IMem- 
bers of Congress, and one a Cabinet Minister. 
Lavennette Fl03'd married Frederick P. Holmes, of 
the University of Virginia. 

Peter A. Porter was a Colonel in the Union 
army and fell in the battle of Cold Harbor. John 

C. Breckenridge was a Congressman and I'nited 
States Senator from Kentuck}', A'ice-president of 
the United States, and Major-General and Secretary 
of War for the Confederate army. Samuel ^Miller 
Breckenridge is a prominent lawyer and Judge of 
St. Louis, ]Mo. Margaret M. Breckenridge was de- 
voted to hospital and other charities in the late 
war. William K. P. Breckenridge, Colonel in the 
Confederate army, married a daughter of Heniy 
Clay. Benjamin K. Brown, United States Senator 
from Missouri, was candidate for the Vice-presi- 
dency with Horace Greeley. John Mason Brown 
was a Colonel of Cavalry in the Union army and 
a prominent lawyer of Louisville, Ky. Edward 
Cabell Carrington was a Captain in the Mexican 
War, a member of the Virginia Legislature, and 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



493 



Brigadier-General in the Union army. William 
Campbell Preston Carrington was a Confederate 
officer wlio fell in llie battle at Baker's Creek, near 
Vicksburg. 

Susan Caleb married John B. Weller, Member of 
Congress from Ohio, also Ignited States Senator 
from California, Governor of California and Uni- 
ted States Jlinister to Mexico. .Jessie Benton mar- 
ried Maj.-Gen. John C. Fremont, the Republican 
candidate for President in ]X.)7. Sarah Benton 
married Rieliard T. .lacob. who was Lieutenant 
Ciovernor of Kentucky. Susan \. Benton married 
Bvron Souldee Boilleau, French Minister to Peru. 
Sallie C. P. jMcDowel! married Francis Thomas, 
Governor of Maryland. William Preston Johnson 
was Ji Colonel in the Confederate army, confid- 
ential Aide to President Davis, and President of 
Tulare llniversity. Randall Lee (iibson was a 
Brigadier-(!eneral in the Confederate army and a 
Member of Congress from Louisiana, llart Gibson 
was a member of the Kentucky Legislature. Will- 
iam Preston Gibson served in the Louisiana Legis- 
lature. Six brothers of these Gib.sons were distin- 
guished ollicers in tlie Confederate army. Two 
of them, William Preston and Claude Gibson, gave 
up their lives for the Confederate cause. 

Mary Massie married John Hampton Pleasants, 
the well-known A'irginia journalist, wiio was killed 
in a duel l)y Thomas Rieliard in 1816. Ann M. 
Lewis married the son of a Virginia lawyer, John 
Howe Pay ton. Montgomery Blair w.as Postmaster- 
General in President Lincoln's Cabinet. James 
Blair, -Ir., married a daughter of (ien. .Iessu|),of the 
United States army. Francis P. Blair was a Mem- 
ber of Congress and United States Senator from 
Missouri. He was a Major-General in the Union 
army and a Democratic candidate for the ^'ice- 
presidency. pjlizabeth Blair married Adniiial Lee. 
of the United States navy. Ellen Preston married 
James W. Shaffe\', and jNIary Shaffey married Prof. 
W. E. Painters, of the University of Virginia. 
Mary W. Packer married Todd Rol)inson, Judge of 
the Su|)reme Court of California. Thomas T. 
Crittendon was a Urigadiei-CJeneral in the United 
States army and Governor of tlii^ State of Jlis- 
souri. 

Cyrus Alfred Preston, Sr., the father of the sub- 



ject of this sketch, was born in Kentucky in 1816, 
and was a direct descendant of John Preston, the 
Irish emigrant, in the sixth generation. He was 
educated at Danville College, Ky., from which he 
graduated, and later was a Director in the same 
institution. Born .as he w.as in a slave State and 
the son of a large slave-holder, he early in life 
learned to alihor the institution of human slavery 
and soon liecame an avowed Abolitionist. An 
alile lawyer, he located at Lexington. He possessed 
great oratorical powers and during the Douglas 
and Lincoln campaign we find him a supporter of 
Douglas, but many and eloi|ii<'nl were the speeches 
he delivered in favor of the abolition of slavery. 
Later, he embraced the princiiiles of the Repulili- 
can party, to which he clung to the d.ay of his 
death. He served as Mayor of the city of Coving- 
ton, Ky., and was Provost -Marshal under Lincoln. 

In 18(i6. our subject's father gave up his politi- 
cal and |)iofessional life to seek ([uiet and retire- 
ment on his farm near Shipman, Macoupin County, 
111., where the great lawyer, scholar and orator 
died in 1875, at the age of tifty-nine years. The 
mother of our subject was Mary Amelia iMyers, a 
native of Broome C'ounty, Is'. Y., and the daughter 
of Aaron Myers, a [iroininent lumber merchant. 
She vvas educated at Elmira College, Elraira, N. Y., 
and was a high-minded, cordial and Christian lady. 
Her marriage to Alfred Preston occurred in LStJ;'). 
After his death, she married Dr. (L 11. (iilson, a 
l)roniinent physician of Shipman, 111. Her decease 
occurred October 18, 1888. 

Cyrus Alfi-ed Preston, .Jr., tlie subject of this 
sketch, is the eldest of three children born to liis 
parents. lb' lirst saw the liuht on the home farm 
near Shipman. 111.. February 7, 1867. His father 
(lii'd ill 11S7.'), and he, with his sister, Daisy Mary 
Amelia, was left to the care of his widowed mother. 
After his motlier's marriage to Dr. Gilson, lie con- 
tinued to reside with them until he had coniiileted 
his education. It had been his desire in early life 
to become a physician. He studied pharm.acy at 
the National Institute of Pharmacy in Chicago 
and 'from which he graduated in 1887. He later 
passed the Slate Board of Pharmacy and engaged 
ill the drug business with his steii-father at Ship- 
man. In 18',I0, lie established himself in the same 



494 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



business at Nokomis, where we find him conduct- 
ing a verj' successful business. The history of 
his family is such that he may justly be proud of 
it, and future generations of his family will read 
and admire the record made by their ancestors 
from the time .John Preston, the Irisli immigrant, 
lirst set foot on tiie soil of America down to the 
present and seventli generation. 



>i I > p > p >■ 



^tlOllN B. TURNER. The gentleman whose 
distinguished name oijens this notice was 
born .Tanuary 6, 1838, in .Jacksonville, 111. 
^^ He was the son of Jonathan B. and Rliodol- 
pliia S. (Kibble) Turner, the former born in Tem- 
pleton, Mass., and the latter a native of Someis, 
Conn. Tiie famil}' of Turner is well known in tiie 
locality where Mr. Turner's celebrated father was 
reared. Jonathan Turner was a descendant of 
"Mayflower" stock, and from thai stern blood may 
have come much of his firmness of character in de- 
fending right and in lighting wrong and oppres- 
sion. His birth took place in 1805, and his early 
education was so directed that he was alile to enter 
Vale College when quite a young man, and he was 
graduated from this renowned seat of learning 
with honors. He began his career as a teacher in 
liis native Slate and in Kew Hampshire, and latei- 
came to Illinois and became a lecturer and teacher 
in the Illinois College at lacksonville. He remained 
in .lacksonville, and was made a Professor, and l)y 
that title he w.as afterward known. His feelings 
on tiie great (piestions of the day were so intense, 
that he could not keei) silent, and soon his voice 
was heard in lecturing (m anti-slavery, sectarian- 
ism and educational matters. In 183."?, lie entered 
into the discussion of the fence problem in the 
State, and was so advanced in his ideas upon the 
value of the Osage Orange, that it became known 
as "Prof. Turner's folly." He was interested in all 
agricultural improvements, and not only in a theo- 
retical way, for lie studied these problems as if 
Ihey had been in some dead language, or some 



deep mathematical calculation, and went into the 
causes and effects, explained the microscopic in- 
sects and fungoid growths which interfered with 
vegetation, advised rotation of crops, and an an- 
alysis of soils in order to understand tiie best crops 
for certain localities, and gave much information 
to the masses that onl^' the most intelligent could 
understand. There were ignorant agriculturists 
who went on in their own way, calling his discov- 
eries college theories, but it may be remarked that 
at the present time those same theories are the ones 
adopted by those who have become successful in 
tilling the soil. It was Prof. Turner who was one 
of the principal originators of the modern methods 
of planting corn by m.achinery. 

This talented man was an agitator on political 
questions, and his essay on cnrrency attracted at- 
tention from Daniel Webster. His essays, lectures, 
speeches and papers against all modes of slavery, 
sectarianism and party drill, would lill a large vol- 
nnie. One of his addresses was published in the 
State Natural History, in which is an able discus- 
sion of secret societies. He was always, during his 
prime, an advocate for the State Normal School. 
One of his best-known works is the one called 
"Mormoiiism in all ages," which was published in 
1842. Another, "Christ's Creed and Charter of 
the Kingdom of Heaven," appeared in 1847. He 
married in Connecticut, and his family grew up to 
be fine representatives of a brilliant father, al- 
though none of them have yet attained the liter- 
ary iiroiiiiiience which has been his. The family 
record reads as follows: Rliodolpiius K. married 
Ella Kibbe, who still lives at Quiiuy, III., witli her 
three children. I'he husband died December 18, 
1880. AVilliam Henry man led Fannie P. Grobe, 
who died here Sejiteinber 10, 1883, and left his 
wife and eleven children. Charles A. became a 
farmer, and resides in Macon. He has been twice 
married; the first wife w.as named Elizalieth Retter, 
and she left one child. Ills second wife was a 
Miss IIatli<'ld. JIary Louisa married Dr. Henry 
Carriell, the Superintendent of the Insane .\sylum 
at .lacksonville. Four children resulted from this 
marriage. Howard Asa resides in Minneapolis, and 
is in a real-estate and law luisincss there. Heistlie 
father of three chiUlren, two of whom are living. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



495 



Fred Clifford married Lizzie Alexander, tlie daugh- 
ter uf .l(iliii Alexander, ;ind is engaged in the prac- 
tice of law. One child lielongs in this household. 

The immediate subject of tliis sketch was reared 
in .lacksonville. 111., and was graduated from the 
college there in the sining of 1860. He remained 
in the congenial atmosphere of home until winter, 
when he taught school, but came herein llie spring 
of 1861, where his father owned a farm, .ind he 
and his brother William engaged in agriculture. 
He continued here until the fall of 1878, when liis 
brother Ilt)ward and himself engaged in sheep-rais- 
ing in Texas, and all continued in business until 
188.3, when the death of William broke up the 
jileasant relation, and our subject returned home 
and has remained in Lutler Grove Township ever 
since, engaged in farming and stock-raising. 'I'hc 
farm is one of great extent, comprising one thou- 
sand and seven acres, and is stocked and improved 
to the fullest limit. The family own.s one hundred 
acres of timber in North Litclitield. 

Our subject was married Sei)tember '26, 1888, to 
Mrs. Fannie Turner, the daughter of John Fred 
and Ursula (Hagman) Grobe, who was born .luue 
15, 1845, in Switzerland, of Swiss parents. She 
came to America when about live years of age, and 
was reared near Jacksonville. Her father died 
February 14. 1865. at this place, at the age of forty- 
eight years, and her mother, who was born in Jan- 
nary, 18"2"2, still resides here. Her father was a 
carpenter by trade, and followed his occupation in 
this country. She has one sister, Annetta, who 
married Albert Dolea, and died in Jacksonville, 
and left six children. 

Mrs. Turner, the wife of oiu' subject, is an ac- 
complished lady, and attended the Methodist Col- 
lege. She was married the first time to William 
Henry Turner, December 12, 1866. The children 
are as follows: Nettie, who married W. W. Doug- 
las, lives in Carhondale, where her husband is the 
leading physician of the Keeley Institute, and she 
has one child. William Fred lives in Coleman 
County, Tex., where he is managing a cattle ranch 
near Santa Anna of twelve thousand acres, which is 
owned by his father, and uncles John and Howard. 
Minnie and Carrie are at school in Chicago. Wal- 
ter Soott is also located in Chicaffo, where ho is en- 



gaged as a house decorator. Jonathan B. is an at- 
tendant at a veterinary school at Toronto, Can- 
ada. All of these have been graduates of the But- 
ler High School, and Walter, John 1!. and Carrie 
arc also graduates of Ilillsboro. Ida Ella, Annie 
Myra, Charles Philip, Howard Asa and William 
Henry are at home. By her second marriage, INIrs. 
Turner has become the mother of another little 
son, Rhodolphus Kibbe, who was born Ajiril 26, 
18i)(). 

'I'hc subject of this sketch has tilled the ofliee of 
Townshii) Supcrvistn', and has been a stanch Ke- 
liul)lieaii in his political faith. His aged father is 
still living, with mind luight and clear, and is still 
])roduciiig l:)ooks that attract attention. He lives 
a retired life, as his eyesight has failed him. but he 
can truly say that to him his "mind a kingdom is.' 



*^^ W. WILLIAMS, M. D. Prominent among 
the younger physicians and surgeons of 
Litchfield may be mentioned Dr. Williams, 
who located in this place in August, 1888, and 
has since won for himself an enviable reputation 
as an able practitioner and genial gentlonan. 
He was born near Litchfield, in Macoupin County, 
III., April 23, 1855, being the son of Elihu and 
Martha (Corm.ack) Williams. His parents were 
originally from Tennessee, and were among the 
]]ioneeis of Macou|jin County, where they entered 
laud from the fiovernment and made a pleasant 
home. 

The rudiments of our subject 's edut'ation were ac- 
((uired in the comnuui schools of tlie neigliboi-- 
hood, and he subsetiuently entered lUackburn 
I'niversity, at Carlinville, 111., where he availed 
himself to the utmost of the splendid educational 
ad\antages there afforded him. He had decided 
to follow the medical profession, and in order to 
carr}' out that resolve he commenced to read med- 
icine with his uncle. Dr. A. W. Cormack, at Fre- 
donia, Kan. He took a course of lectures at the 



IDG 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



American Medical College, of St. Louis, from 
which he was graduated in 1878. 

IVIr. Williams' theoretical knowledge gained, he 
located at Greenfield, this State, where he opened 
an office, and for a time practiced his profession. 
Thence he removed to Coal Bluff, Ind., and from 
that place to Arkansas City, Knn., where he re- 
mained onl}' a short time. He also practiced at 
Fredonia, Kan., coming from that city to Litch- 
field, where he has permanently located. Al- 
though he has been here but a few j'ears, he has 
already established a lucrative practice, and eDJ03's 
tlie confidence of the people, who repose the 
greatest trust in his ability and skill. 

Dr. Williams is a member of the county and 
State medical societies, and is also identified with 
the Knights of Pythias. His marriage in Decem- 
ber, 1879, united him with Miss Mary A. Pickett, 
of Indianapolis, and the}- are the parents of three 
children: Lena, Mamie, and an infant unnamed. 
Dr. and Mrs. Williams are attendants at and sup- 
porters of the Presbyterian Church, and are prom- 
inently connected with many important measures 
for the progress of the place. 



<^ 




• j)i^:j) t ^ ••• .w - '•j5 j» 



/^^\ ARSIIALL HUNTER, a prominent farmer 
and old settler of Ripley Township, Bond 
County. 111., was born in Ripley Township, 
and within a-half mile of wliere he now 
resides, March 1, 1820. He is a son of .loseph and 
Elizabeth (Maben) Hunter. His grandfather, John 
Hunter, was an Irislimun by birth, and was a young 
man during the Revolutionary War. He was the 
son of one Thomas Hunter, a wealthy landlord in 
Ireland, and during his young days was soinewiiat 
wild, reVielling against tiie restraints jilaced upon 
him liy his father, and this resalted in his running 
away from home with the determination to emi- 
grate to America. Tiiere was only one dilHculty 
ill the w.ay, wiiicii was tiiat lie did not possess 
enough money to pay his passage. However, lie 
determined to make his way to the New World, 



and, as no better opportunity offered, he joined 
the British army, and was shipped to America as a 
soldier. He came with no intention of participat- 
ing in the war, and as soon as opportunity offered 
after landing on American soil, he deserted from 
the army and made his way to North Carolina. 
Later, he went to Tennessee, and there Joseph 
Hunter, our subject's father, was born, being one 
of a family of seven boys. With this family John 
Hunter removed by team to Illinois and settled 
on land not far from where the present generation 
of Hunters now live; but the original settlers have 
all passed away. At death Thomas Hunter, the 
wealthy Irish landlord, left his son a few hundred 
pounds of his fortune, but as the latter was not 
given an equal share, he refused to take wiiat was 
offered and died without claiming it. Of the 
seven sons who came to Illinois with him, John 
died in Kansas; Samuel, in Texas; Thomas, James, 
William, Daniel and Joseph, the latter the father 
of our subject, all died in Bond County. Of 
these, Thomas, Samuel and Joseph served in the 
War of 1812. The mother of our subject was 
also a native of North Carolina, and she bore her 
husband a family of seven children, of whom our 
subject was the second. Of these, Susan died when 
a girl of sixteen years; Mary married Daniel 
Briggs and died in Bond County; Elizabeth died 
when a young lady; Steward Nelson died in child- 
hood; John is now living in Johnson Countj% 
Tex.; and William M. lives on the old homestead. 
Our subject was reared on the farm and received 
but little education, as scliool advantages were 
limited in his boyhood days. Jluch of the time was 
occupied in assisting in the clearing up of the farm. 
In 1843, he married Sarah E. Mj-ei-s, a native of 
Bond County, but she died ten months later. In 
1846, he married Elizabeth Cileiin, a native of North 
Carolina, and a daughter of Alexander (!lenn, who 
was brought to Illinois when she was a child of 
one 3ear. Mr. and Mrs. Hunter had a family of seven 
children, six boys and one girl, three dying when 
small. Those who reached mature years were 
Mary, wife of William Ward, who resides in Ripley 
Township, where he is the present .Supervisor; 
Samantha, wife of John Willeford, a prominent 
young farmer of Ripley; Alice, wife of William 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



497 



Cacahuens. resides on tlie farm of Mr. Hunter, 
who has lived with them ^:ince the death of his 
wife in February, 1883; Joseph W., the second in 
the family', was born April T). 181'J. He now has 
a farm adjoining his father's. Mr. Hunter was 
married to Miss Harriet M. Sybert, whose parents 
were also early settlers in the county, her father 
being William P>. Sybert, a prominent farmer of 
this township. Mr. and Mrs. .Tosc|)h Hunter have 
three children: Alice M., Henry Albert and Rus- 
sell Hall. Mr. .Joseph Hunter is a prominent mem- 
ber of the Masonic fraternity, Gordon Lodge No. 
473, of Pocahontas, in whicii he has been quite ac- 
tive, and he is also a member of the Farmers' 
Mutual IJenefit Association. The Hunter family 
has been Democratic since the original emigr.ant 
first landed on American soil, and the present 
members of the family still continue in the same 
faith. They are also all memljers of the Cumber- 
land Presbyterian Church, Joseph being at present 
a Deacon in that body. Mr. Marshall Hunter is no 
doubt the oldest living pioneer residing in Bond 
County. 



^^i'a~^@l^^^*- 



^1 S. WYCKOFF. There is not within the 
limits of Litchfield a man who is held in 
more general respect than the subject of this 

''^J notice. Self-made in the broadest sense of 
the terra, his career illustrates in an admirable man- 
ner what may be accomplished by unflagging in- 
dustry, perseverance and good management. We 
find him the possessor of a fine home which in all 
its appointments fulfills the modern idea of cultured 
taste. 

Our subject was boi-n in New York City, July 
15, 18511. His parents were Dr. James li. and Mar- 
garet (AVinship) Wyckoff. Dr. Wyckoff was a na- 
tive of New York, and practiced there for some 
time. In 1865 he came West and located at Jer- 
seyville, this State, but did not long survive his 
removal, leaving a widow and one son, who is the 
subject of this biography. The mother and son re- 



I turned to their old home, and some years later 
Mrs. Wyckoff became Jlrs. Eytinge, and changed 
her place of residence to Bayonne, N. J., where she 
still lives. Our subject's mother is a woman of 
pronounced literaiy aliility, and has for years suc- 
cessfully edited the children's department of the 
Detroit Free Press. She is a graduate of the 
Rutger Institute of New York City, and received 
the gold medal of her class. Her parents were n.a- 
tives of New Knghuid, and she can trace a direct 
line of ancestry back to the ''Maytlower." 

J. S. Wyckoff, with whose name we commenced 

I this sketch, was educated in the public schools of 
his native city, and for some years after his grad- 
uation occupied himself as a teacher. Circumstances 
seem to have compelled him to seek the field in 
which he should prove the greatest success, for pre- 
vious to entering the line he is now engaged in, we 
find him acting as school teacher and clerk alter- 
nately. Soon after accepting a school in this part 
of the State, in the year 1871, our subject became 
interested in plants and flowers to such an extent 
that he resigned his positif)n and accepted a place 
in a nursery as salesman. Nature must have en- 
dowed him with the necessary talent and concep- 
tion for this line of work, for only a few years 
after his introduction to the business we find him in 
the position of proi)rietor, and making an unqual- 
ified success in this chosen field of labor. 1 ii the 
year 187(5 he came to Litchfield, and built ui) a 
trade which extends over the southern i)ortion of 
the State. He employs a large number of salesmen, 
but the success of his business is due to his own 
excellent ability, energy and management. In 188'J 
he built the home in whitih he resides at present, 
and which is an excellent momiment to his |)er- 
severance and thrift, .as well as an excellent illus- 
tration of the taste possessed by its owner. 

When twenty -six years old, Mr. Wyckoff, hav- 
ing accumulated enough of this world's goods to 
found a home, took unto himself a wife and hel[)- 
mate The marriage occurred January 10, 187',(, 
and the bride was Miss Maggie L. Johnson, daugh- 
ter of Henry Johnson, a well-known and much-es- 
teemed citizen of llopkinsville, Ky. The results of 
this union are three intelligent and bright chil- 
dren, Pearl, Ralph and Carl. Mrs. W^'ckoff 



498 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



is a woman of most estiraahle traits of cliaraeter 
and warm sympathies, which make for her many 
friends in the vicinity of her home. 

Our subject is one of the stanch, substantial cit- 
izens of Lilclitield, and a man of sterling principles, 
progressive ideas and generous impulses. Eulogj' 
is never questioned when bestowed on one whose 
every characteristic displays (pialities of heart and 
brain superior to the average, and yet capable of 
comprehending and discovering the best in those 
witli whom he comes in contact, and he whose bi- 
ography we have here sketched is one of the best 
types of American citizen, and a man beloved 
by his fellow-men. Mr. Wyckoff is a member of tlie 
Knights of Pythias, also of the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows and Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
ica. Both he and his wife are members of the Pres- 
byterian Church. 






y'";ILLIA]M M. BRIGGS. Our subject is a 
man of more than average ability, and one 
„ „ who has made the most of his opportuni- 
ties. He is a representative agriculturist and promi- 
nent citizen of Harvel Township, living upon his 
fine farm in section 8. Mr. Briggs was born in 
ISiorth Litchfield Township, Montgomery County, 
111., in 1847, September 24, being a son of the 
late Judge Stephen K. Briggs, formerly an As- 
sociate Judge of Montgomery County. Judge 
Briggs was a native of Ohio and came to Illinois 
with his parents when but four years old; he resided 
for a short time in Bond County, and then removed 
with his parents to Nortii Litchfield Township, 
Montgomery County, 111., where he grew to man- 
hood. He was Associate Judge for many years, dis- 
charging the duties of lliat oflice with distinguished 
ability. Until the war of 1861-186.5 he was aDem- 
ocrat, but the stupendous revolutions of those times 
resulted in his changing to the Republican party, 
in wiiich he remained until his death in 1871. His 
devoted and faithful wife survived him ten years, 
passing away in 1881. 



His marriage was a fruitful one; of the children 
the following survive: James, William M., Mrs. 
John Seward, Thomas, Mrs. Wesley Davis, Douglas, 
Charles and \V. M. Briggs. 

Our subject grew to manhood amid tlie scenes 
incident to passing, out of pioneer life into a 
modern farming region, well settled and with the 
appliances and comforts and the luxuries of modern 
civilization. The educational advantages of his 
youth were greatly inferior to those enjoyed by 
the farmers' sons of to-day; but such as they were 
he had to be content with them. He was married 
.September 1, 1870, to Miss Louisa Smith, a native 
of Kentucky, who bore him three ciiildren: Charles 
W., Amelia and David. In 1881 he settled upon 
his present farm, consisting of one hundred and 
sixtv acres of raw prairie, which by hard work he 
has brought up to its fine condition. Although 
his educational advantages were few, he has been 
from his youth up a zealous reader and is well in- 
formed upon current and general history. He is a 
man who thinks for himself and is an independent 
in [jolitics, insisting upon voting for principles 
and not for party. The Methodist Episcopal 
Church, of which he and his wife are members, 
elected him a Steward in that l)ody, a jtosition he 
still holds. He is a member of the Jlodern Wood- 
men at Raymond, 111. 




SCHLUCKPjBIER. For many years, or since 
his location in tiiis county, the reputation 
that Mr. Schluckebier has enjoyed has been 
not only that of a substantial and very pro- 
gressive farmer, but of an intelligent and thor- 
oughly posted man on all public affairs. Al- 
though he started out for himself with limited 
means, and at the bottom of the ladder, he has 
reached almost the highest round of success and 
is one of the most prosperous citizens. He is the 
owner of four hundred and thirty-four acres of 



PORTRAIT AND IJIOORAPII'CAL RECORD. 



41)0 



land, and all his farming operations are conducted 
in a manner sliowinji' li's familiarity witli tliat 
pursuit. 

Tlieoriginal nf this notice lirst saw tlic liglitof day 
in the princi|)aiily of Waldeck, (ieriiiany. Feliruary 
22, 1829, and liis father, C.Schluckehier, was a native 
of the same place. The elder .Mr. Schlucl<ebier fol- 
lowed tiie (iccuiiation of a farmer in his native 
country' and died theie when seventy-two years of 
age. His wife, Klizahetli Sehluckeliier, was born in 
the .same plaee and died tliere when alioiit sixty 
years of age. Their cliildren, three sons and 
two daughters, all grew to mature years, and tliree 
sons came Lo America. Tiie d.augliters died in the 
Old Country. Our subject is the only one of the 
family now living and was tlie eldest child. The 
benelits to be derived from a residence in Ameiica 
prompted him to cross the ocean, and in 18.")7 he 
set foot upon United States soil. lie first settled 
in St. Louis, and, after residing there for twelve 
years, moved to Illinois. The farm that he then 
owned and cultivated there is now in the city 
limits. 

It was in 1870 that Mv. Sehluckebier came to 
INIontgomery Count_y, 111., and setlled in East Fnik 
Townshi|), where he bought one hundred and 
twenty-two .acres of land on sectitm 18. Since 
then he has added to the original tract, until now 
he has one of the most productive and best culti- 
vated farms in his section, all the result of honest 
industry and frugality, traits of char.acter no 
doubt inherited from his (ierman ancestors. 
When he landed in St. J>ouis, he had just $3 in 
money, but here the sturdy and thrifty elements 
of his nature .asserted themselves and he went to 
work with energy and i)erseveranoe to lay tiie 
foundation for his subseipient jirosperous career. 

In 18(>I, while a residi'ut of St. Louis, he was 
married to Miss E. L. Oitinar, who died in 1872 in 
Montgomery County, leaving two children, Mary, 
the wife of L. Edwards, of East Fork Township; 
and William F.,at home. The second marri.ige of 
our suliject was vvith Miss Doreta Uazeliiuer, who 
died, leaving one daughter, .lulia F., at home. 
J\lr. Sehluckebier selected his third wife in the i)er- 
son of Mrs. Anna L. Shanhert, a native^ of St. 
Louis. Our subject is one of the influential citi- 



zens of IMontgomery County, and lias contributed 
greatly to its growtli and |)ros|)erity. His name 
is synoiiymoiis with successful agriculture, and in 
all the affairs of lif(> he has borne himself in an up- 
right manner, and is regarded as a man of true 
worth. 




".3 <T^ C^- 



REDERICK LOHMANN. Our subject, a 
well-known and much respected citizen and 
skillful farmer of Pitman Tnwnship, Mont- 
gf)niery County, 111., was born in Prussia, .laiiuary 
28, 18;^,'), being a son of Henry and Sophia Loh- 
mann, natives (if (iermany. He was reared to 
manhocMl in his native country and all his life 
long has worked upon a farm. He received a fair 
education in (German and a moderate knowledge 
of English. The spirit of emigration seized him 
and in 1800 he took passage at Bremen on a sailing- 
vessel for America, being seven weeks and four 
d.ays on the ocean. Landing at IJaltimore, he pro- 
ceeded direct to M.aconpin County, III., where he 
wfirked upon a farm until .lamiar\-, 1864, when he 
enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Fifty- 
second Illinois Infantry, remaining in the service 
until tlie close of the war. Garrison duty in Ten- 
nessee was his in-incii)al service until his discharge 
in 18G5, and for disease contracted in the service he 
receives a pension of ^« per month. He returned 
to ]\Lacoii|iin County, woiked for several years as 
a farm hand and was married Se|itember 23, 1875, 
to Anne Koch, born November l<s, 185.5, at St. 
Louis, a daughter of William and Dorothy Koch, 
natives of (iermany. IK'r father, now dead, brought 
her with her mother to .Macoupin County from 
(iermany, when Mrs. Lohmann was a little girl; re- 
maining there two years they went to Christian 
County, where she was reared and educated. Mr. 
and Mrs. Lohmann are the parents of live children, 
namely: Henry, Dora, Frank, Frederickand Ernest. 
.Vfter their inarri:ige they came to .Montgomery 
County and settled in Pitman Township upon a 
farm of eighty acres, which was bought and paid 
for with nione\- earned by the earnest toil of man 



500 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and wife. Thej' are niembere of the church in 
which their parents and they grew iiji and that is 
very dear to them — tlie Lutheran, at Harvel. Mr. 
Lohmann is a Repuliliean in politics, a party with 
which lie has been associated for many years. Our 
subject is a man of unassuming manner, honest in 
all his dealings with his fellow-man and an indus- 
trious, hardworking farmer. 






i 



^H AMES YOUNG. Wiiat honesty, hard work 
and steadfast determination will accomplish 
in America can not be better illustrated 
than by giving a brief sketch of the life of 
James Young, now one of the wealthiest citizens 
of Montgomeiy County, III. lie was born in 
County Tyrone, Ireland, M:i.\- 3, 1828, the second 
of a family of six children born to Anthony and 
Jane (McCoy) Young, the former of whom was a 
son of Thomas Young, a Scotchman, who left that 
country for tlie North of Ireland during the relig- 
ious trouble in his native land, or about the year 
1780. He was a high-minded, cultured gentleman, 
possessed of an ample fortune; in fact, it has been 
ascertained that he was at one time one of the 
largest and wealthiest land-owners in the northern 
part of the Isle of Erin, owning nearly, if not 
quite, a township of land. It was on this vast 
estate that Anthony Young, the father of James 
Young, was born in 1801. Upon the death of his 
father, Thomas, he came into possession of his 
share of his father's fortune, there being several 
other heirs. The other children of his father, five 
in number, were also born on the home place. 

Anthony Young was one of those warm-hearted, 
whole-souled gentlemen who could never say no 
to a friend, but he was not as good a financier as 
could be desired, and while on a visit to a brother, 
James Young, who was an dtticer in the British 
army, he was taken sick and suddenly died, after 
which a crisis in the financial affairs of the young 
famil}^ came, for it was found that the father had 
befriended so man3' with mone\' or the use of his 



name that the entire estate was swept awa}-, and 
his widow with six children was left penniless. 
Of this family Thomas was the eldest, and at the 
age of eighteen years he entered the British arm}' 
and soon became a member of the Queen's Body- 
guard, but died at the age of twenty-one \'ears. 
James w.as the next eldest and it devolved upon 
him to look after the welfare of his widowed 
mother and younger children, and he at once put 
his shoulder to the wheel in the determined way 
for which he has always been noted. It did not 
take him long to make up his mind that America 
should be his future home, and in 18.51 he, having 
provided sufficiently for the family to keep them 
until he could reach the United States and earn 
mone}' to send them, set sail for this country, and 
so closely had he figured that when he reached 
Canada he had but three cents in his pocket. 
However, he was a strong, healthy young man 
and was not long in obtaining employment, and 
after remaining in Lower Canada for about a year 
he came to the States and soon after became the 
owner of some of the fertile acres of Illinois, in 
Madison County. 

So successful was he in all his operations that in 
1853 he sent for his mother and the other 
four children, three boys and one girl; but 
here the sister, Ann, died, on the 3d of November, 
1860. William is a successful and well-known 
farmer of Jladison County. The other two broth- 
ers, Robert and Anthony, did valiant service in 
the Civil War. Anthony became a private in 
Company K, Twenty-second Illinois Infantry, and 
during his service of more than three years he 
participated in twenty-two general engagements. 
He was promoted to be Orderly-Sergeant and at the 
battle of Belmont, when his Colonel and Captain 
fell wounded and the Lieutenants had deserted 
their post of duty, he commanded his eom[)any 
and for bravery and meritorious conduct was 
given a Lieutenant's commisison. Later, he was 
presented by Gen. Phil Sheridan with a gold 
watch and chain. At the battle of Stone River he 
was taken prisoner and for three months there- 
after fought starvation in Libby Prison, during 
which time he sold the gold watch and chain that 
had been presented to him by Sheridan and dis- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



')01 



tributcd the procei'ds ,-ini<iiiL>' his unfortunate 
fellow-[)iisoucrs. Aljraveror inure daring soldier 
than Mr. Young- never trod the crimson turf of a 
liattletiehl, and upon his return home he bore with 
him the heart-felt gratitude of his country. For 
some time after the war he was extensively en- 
gaged in mining in Deadwood and later in New 
Mexico, making and losing two or three fortunes, 
and finally died in St. Louis in 1889. 

The subject of this sketch has been wonder- 
fully successful ui everything that he has under- 
taken since he readied the free soil of America, 
and his farming enterprises in Madison County, 
together with tiie advance of property, made him 
a snug fortune. In 1867 he was attracted to the 
then almost unimproved prairies of Montgorreiy 
County, and the same year he purchased the farm 
where he now lives and has since added to it until 
he is now the owner of over one thousand acres of 
the Gnest land in the county. Aside from this he 
owns a large amount of property in the city of 
Nokoinis, for he, in coin])any with D. II. Zepp and 
Henry A. P>est, bought up all the vacant lots and 
some two hundred acres of land adjoining the 
town in 187'J, whicli alone made him a fortune. 
His accumulation of wealth did not have the ef- 
fect of changing to any aiipreciable extent either 
his manner or his customs in dealing with those 
who were brought into contact with him. He has 
always been thoroughly democratic, is as genial 
and kindly as he was in the days of his early 
struggles, and has ever been the same industrious, 
upright, honest Christian gentleman. He was mar- 
ried in 1858 to Miss Lucy A. Alvis, a native of 
the State of Illinois, by whom he has six children: 
Jennie, wife of A. L. Culp, of Nokomis, is an artist 
(if no small ability and repute; Annie M. also 
paints well and is now at home, having completed 
her education; Helen L. is pursuing her studies at 
Alton College; William is attending school at 
Xokomis; Clara Belle and Lucy May are attending 
tlie public schools. The mother of Mr. Young 
died March 31, 187;i. at the age of seventy-four 
years, having always made her home with him 
after coming to America. 

In politics Mr. Young is the strongest kind of a 
Republican, lie is a prominent member of the 



Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he 
has been a member of the Grand Lodge, and also 
belongs to the Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons. 
He is also an exemplary member of the JMethodist 
E|)iscopal Church. In 1878, he made an extended 
trip through Kuroi)e. traveling through Engl.and, 
F'rance, .Scotland and Ireland, but came to the con- 
clusion that America was a good enough country 
for him. Mr. Young's career might be copied by 
indigent young men of the present generation, for it 
points its own moral. Much more might be said of 
the early mcmliers of his family, for Robert Young, 
a cousin of his father, was a man of letters, an 
author and jioet who was well and favonil)h' 
known in his native country; in fact, his writings 
were known and read in two continents. 



Iff^^ ON. JESSE J. PHILLIPS. The distin- 
y guished subject of this sketch was born in 
i.€i;ji?^ Montgomery Count}-, 111., M.ay 27, 1837, 
^^) the son of Thomas Phillips, a native of 
Macon County, 111., who vvas born October 7, 1790; 
the latter removed to Kentucky, and lost his parents 
in the year 1811; later he removed to Kaskas- 
kia, 111., and finally left there and went into 
business at Ste. Genevieve, Mo. His sf.ay there 
was a short one, and he returned to a jioint 
near Kaskaskia, where he located and lemained 
for the balance of his life. Huring the war 
with Mexico he was a Second Lieutenant in Koiin- 
tree's Company, Second Regiment of Illinois 
Volunteers. He passed from life September 22, 
1877, aged eighty -seven years, at Hillslioro, 111. 
His father, John Phillips, was a native of Wales. 
Tlie wife of the latter was Lucy Hampton, born in 
South Carolina. 

Our subject's mother was Jane Roberts, a na- 
tive of Keiitu(tky, born August 7, 1802, and was 
reared at Sinithland, in the same State. Her de- 
mise occurred May 23, 1888. Her father, Jesse 
Roberts, was a native of South Carolina, where he 



502 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



was reared and pursued the vocation of a Uni- 
versalist preacher. His mother was Effie Carter, 
a native of North Carolina. .Jesse Roberts had 
one brotlier, Obadiati, wlio left a son, Orvin, who 
took an active part in the struggle for the inde- 
pendence of Texas, and subsequently was a Judge 
of the Supreme Court of Texas and also Gov- 
ernor of that State. He still resides at Austin and 
is known as the "Old Alcalde." 

The father and mother of our subject were 
married at Smithland, Kw, and later removed to 
Illinois. They were the parents of eight children, 
five sons and three daughters. One son died in in- 
fancy', while the otliers grew to maturity; the 
youngest, Sidney K, was Sergeant-Major of the 
Ninth Illinois Infantry, and was mortally wounded 
at the battle of Siiiloh, April G, 1862, 'dying from 
the same .June 8 following. Burrell, the second 
son, was a member of the General Assembly of 
the State of Illinois from the Forty-first District, 
in 187(5, and again in 188C from the counties of 
Montgomer.v and Christian. Tlie eldest son, 
Henry, is a re!^ident of .Jefferson County, 111.; 
Hannah is the widow of Gen. Scott; Unit>' .J. is 
the wife of George Seward, of Montgomery 
County, 111. Permesea was the wife of William 
II. Brewer, and died in 1868. 

Our subject is tiie seventh child and fourth 
son; he was educated at tlie llillsboro Academy, and 
at the age of nineteen was ajiiiointed Route Agent 
on tiic Terre Haute &: St. lA)uis Railroad, a posi- 
tion he held until 1857; he then entered the law 
office of Davis tt Kingsbury, of Hillsboro, whore 
he studied three years, after which he was ad- 
mitted to the P.ar, in the year 1860, and began 
the practice of his profession at llillsboro. In 
the year 1861, in res])onse to tiic call for seventy- 
five thousand men, he raised a companj-, wliicii 
was organized April 17, 1861, of which lie was 
elected Captain; they reported at Si)ringfield and 
made part of the Xiiitli Infantry, our subject 
being made IMajor. May 1 next the regiment 
was at Cairo, 111., and continued on garrison 
duty three months, the term of its enlistment. 

The regiment was reorganized Septenibei 3, 
1861, and entered the service for three years; 
soon after it was ordered, with the Twelfth Illinois 



Infantry, by Gen. Grant to proceed to Paducah, 
Ky., and at this time Maj. Phillips was temporary 
commander of the regiment. He was commissioned 
Lieutenant-Colonel December 21, 1861, and in 
February, 1862, his command moved up the Ten- 
nessee River and formed part of the armj- that 
co-operated with the fleet in the attack upon and 
capture of Ft. Henry. He also took part with 
eight companies of his regiment, he being in com- 
mand, as the Colonel was disabled by a wound, in 
the siege and capture of Ft. Donelson. In this 
battle the Ninth Regiment, with six hundred men 
engaged, lost tliirt3'-five in killed, one hundred 
and sixty wounded, and six prisoners. Col. Phil- 
lips received high praise from his brother officers 
and from Gens. Grant and Oglesby for the supe- 
rior manner in which he handled the regiment 
during the fight. AVhile leading the bayonet 
charge his horse was shot from under him. The 
regiment next took part in the battle of Shiloh, 
April 6, 1862, going into the fight with five hun- 
dred and seventy men- and suffering a loss of 
sixty-one killed, two hundred and eighty-seven 
wounded and ten prisoners. One commissioned 
officer was killed, nineteen wounded and onl}' four 
escaped unhurt. Among the mortally wounded 
was Sidney B. Phillips, a brother of our subject. 

Col. Phillips' horse received three musket shots 
and one grape shot before it fell, and the Col- 
onel himself was shot through the hand and twice 
through the thigh. Owing to the wounds of the 
Colonel of the regiment, received in March, the 
command at that time devolved upon Col. Phil- 
lips, a position that he retained not only in the 
battles of Shiloh and Donelson, but also until the 
expiration of the term of service of the regiment. 
After our subject recovered from the wounds re- 
ceived at Shiloh, he was ordered to Atliens, in 
North Alabama, where he was stationed several 
months, the command at this time being mounted 
as scouts. The post was one of great danger, requir- 
ing constant vigilance, but his duty there ceased 
Septeiriber 1, 1863. His command was in a number 
of fights, in one of which, near Florence, Ala., 
during a sabre charge which he directed, he re- 
ceived a serious injury by the fall of his horse 
after he iiad broken through the enenn's line. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



503 



He made a charge with thirty-three of his men 
u|ioii seventy of the enemy, and succeeded in 
capturing thirty-four, tlie only one hurt during 
tlie cliarge, excei)t the Colonel, being a rebel, who 
was cut down liy asal)re in the liandsof Col. Philli|)s. 
A|nil l.j, 1<S().'5, Col. Phillips with his regiment had 
a lattle with rebel cavalry at Cherokee, Ala., and 
the same day with another body of the enemy at 
Lundy's, the rebels losing lifty killed and wounded 
and twenty-throe pris(.)ners, the laiion loss being 
live wounded and lifty-live prisoners. During tlie 
same month the Colonel and his regiment took 
part in other battles at Cherokee and Crane Creek, 
Ala., and Jlay t in a light at Tupelo, Miss., and 
on the 28th of the same month was in a battle 
at Fhu'cnce, Ala. 

Col. Phillips, with a command of six hundred 
men, his own and portions of two other regiments, 
while scouting in Mississippi, June 19, 18G3, was 
attacked by about three thousand men at Mud 
Creek Swamp. A hard fight ensued, which lasted 
from eight o'clock A. M. until 3 o'ckick P. M., 
wlien Coi. l'liilli|is. lindiiig hiiiisclf opjiosed by 
such superioi' nuuiliers, retreated in a masterly 
manner, contesting every inch of the ground, pun- 
ishing the enemy so badly that it finally gave up 
the pursuit. The rebel loss was two hundred 
killed and wounded, while the Union loss was but 
five killed au'i eighteen wounded. Col. Phillips' 
conduct during the tight and in the retreat was 
warmly commended liy iiis superior officers in their 
ollicial report. He made a raid in August, 180:5, 
with about sixteen hundred men through Missis- 
sipjii, and at (Iranada they captured and destroyed 
about sixty joi'keltes, four hundred and fifty cars 
of all kinds, and a large amount of stores. Here 
he met and drove back a force of fifteen hundred 
rebels imder Col. Slemmer. At Forked Deer River 
he engaged the enemy in n skirmish October 21, 
18(!;'>; again, October 8, he al lacked a largely su- 
perior force of the enemy at Salem, Teiin.. and 
nfter lighting two hours was reinforced by eight 
hundred men under Col. McCrillis. After fight- 
ing until dark at :i disadvantage, he retreated. 

(Jctober 11, of the same year, tlie rebels at- 
tacked Colliorville, Tenn., and were roi)ulsed. Col. 
PhilliiJS, being in command of a brigade, fol- 



lowed them ami an engagement took place at 
(iraham's Mill, and again at Royal, Miss.; in the 
last engagement he had a horse shot under him 
At Florence, Ala., November 30, 1863, with two 
hundre<l men, he attacked a force of the enemy, 
charging them with satires, and captured thirty- 
four of them. His command was next ordered to 
Decatur, Ala., where he remained from .Ian nary, 
18G1, until May 1 following, during which time 
lie was engaged in a number of skirmishes, the 
most important of which was near Moultoii, Ala 
Shortly afterward he engaged a force of rebel cav- 
alry under Maj. ^^'illiams at Somerville, Ala., 
and drove them to Danville, .\la., and from Dan- 
ville to Jloulton, where a sharp tight ensued. 
Col. Phillips, encountering a reinforcement of 
largely superior forces, deeme<l a retreat prudent. 
Here his horse was shot and fell \\\nm him, plac- 
ing him in peril of cai)ture, from which he was 
rescued l\v a charge from a portion of his com- 
mand led by [>ieut. Cyrus Gilmore, of his regi- 
ment. About May, 18(il, the corps to which he 
belonged was ordered to Chattanooga to prepare 
for the Atlanta campaign. Uijoii repcn-ting, lie 
had orders to move to the front to take the ad- 
vance of the army. In obedience to the or<ler, he 
set out with his command, and on [lassing through 
Snake Creek. Ga., he encountered a force of 
reliel cavalry. At the battle of Resaca, M.ay 11, 
1804, in a reconnoisance he confronted a heavy 
force of rebel cavalry under the celebiated Gen. 
Wheeler, and w.as driven liack after a light of 
two hours. Here .again he had a horse shot 
under him and received a painful injury in the 
ankle, which rendered him unlit for service until 
.lune 1, when he again assumed command. 

In the battle of .luly 22, 18<;i, in front of At- 
lanta, tlie Colonel took an active part, being 
placed on the staff of Gen. Dodge, who made 
honorable mention of the Colonel's gallantry in 
his ollicial report. ( )n the night of -Iiilv 22 he 
was placed in command of a brigade of infan- 
try, and on .July 28 his command took a iiromi- 
nent part in the engagement. ( )ii tlmt day Col. 
Phillips aided (ien. Logan in a masterly way, 
the (ieneral's command sustaining the Hank of 
the battle. August 1, 18G4, he was apjioiuted 



504 



POKTRxUT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Chief on Gen. Dodge's staff, where he reinnined 
until the capture of Atlanta, when he resigned, 
the resignation being accepted in September, 
1864. He returned to his home at Ilillsboro and 
resumed the practice of law; was commissioned 
Brevet-Colonel to rank March 13, 1865; also on 
the same date he was commissioned Brigadier- 
General by brevet, both commissions being for 
gallant conduct and for meritorious and distin- 
guished services during the war. In politics, our 
subject is a Democrat, high in the councils and 
confidence of his party, having twice been the 
nominee for State Treasurer, in 1866 and 1868, 
and was defeated both times, because his party 
was in the minority. He is now and has been 
Circuit Judge, a position he has filled witii dis- 
tinguished ability. 



'^^-^-^m 



=:=— i* 



^^P F. RHODES. The subject of this sketch 
(@y/j| i is a man of much influence in his com- 
munity, he being highly lespected and re- 
garded as a man of sound judgment in 
public affairs as well as in matters relating to the 
farm. He lives in Anderson Township, Mont- 
gomery County, III., and was born in Rockingham 
County-, Va., July 25, 1827, being the eighth in a 
famil3' of twelve children. His parents were Jacob 
and Christina Riiodes, the latter dying when he 
was quite young. P>ut little can be learned con- 
cerning the early history or the ancestry of the 
family, yet there is little doubt that they are of 
German extraction, the father, as far as can be 
learned, having been born in Pennsjivania, being 
what is commonly termed a Pennsylvania-Dutch- 
man; he settU^d at a very early day in Rocking- 
ham County. He was a farmer of considerable 
means, reared a large family, aud finally died in 
the count}' named, upon the farm which he first 
settled. 

The subject of this sketch grew up on the farm, 
devoting the greater portion of his time u|) to his 
twentieth year in acquiring the very liberal edu- 



cation he then received. He was stricken hard 
with the gold fever, and in 184'J he and his 
brother, Emmons, sailed around Cape Horn in a 
sailing-vessel, consuming six months in reaching 
the land of promise. They at once went to min- 
ing near Stockton, but after a time started a trad- 
ing post at what was then known as AVood's 
Creek, the lirother conducting the store and our 
subject hauling the goods by ox-team from Stock- 
ton, a distance of about eighty miles. Two vears 
of this traffic resulted in yielding the enterprising 
young men a snug little fortune, which contented 
them; and in 1853 they returned home, via the 
Isthmus of Panama. The gold excitement in Aus- 
tralia enticed him from his home a second time, 
and he made his way to iMelbourne and tiien to the 
mines. Here Fortune, the fickle flirt, frowned upon 
him aud all he had made in California was soon 
lost. He was full of game, however, and we find 
him soon at woik for the Australian Govern- 
ment, wheeling dirt at £3 sterling per day, a 
pursuit he followed until he had saved up quite a 
sum of money, with this returning to the mines. 
Now Fortune, as many another jade has done 
when good luck has struck a fellow, smiled her 
sweetest upon him, and for four years the shining 
j-ellow metal flowed into his pockets in a steady 
stream. At the end of this time, satisfied, he re- 
turned by way of England, visiting that country, 
Scotland and Ireland, at last reaching Barton. In 
his absence his father had died in Virginia and his 
fainil_v was scattered; so he did not return to his 
native place, but started for Texas. Stopping over 
to visit a married sister, Mrs. D. D. Scraney, at 
Nokainis, 111., he was induced to locate here, pur- 
chasing the farm upon which he has resided ever 
since. Soon after, in 1857, he married Miss Rosa 
Corpburn, of German-Pennsylvania ancestry, wlio 
has borne him seven children, five of whom are 
living: Kate, wife of Thomas Gay, of Ford, Kan.; 
]\Iaud. at home; Otis P., living at Cincinnati; Ar- 
beny 1)., living in California; (Jlenn H., at Ir me. 
Clair died at the age of two, and Fred died at 
the age of twenty-two, in 1886. Mr. Rhodes' 
beautiful iiome is situated upon an eminence, 
l)eautified by trees, shrubbery, tlowers and grass, 
from whicli the couiiliv about may be seen to a 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



505 



distance of many miles. Here, in content and 
lmi)(jiness, lie is spending liis declining years, at 
peace with his neigliljors and the world. 



! > ■ II I ' F ^ I ' 



•-*'«<< 



ON. HUMPHREY II. HOOD, M. I)., is one 
a; of the leading insurance agents of the city 
of Litclifield, 111., and also Secretary of the 
Oil Cit}- Building and Savings Association. 
Dr. Hood has been a resident of this city since 
KS5;3, and was born in IMiiladelphia, Pa., Septem- 
lier 19, 1823, being the son of Lambert and Sarah 
(Iluglies) Hood. The father was a mechanic and 
his ancestors had been residents of that place for 
three or four generations. The fatlier was a con- 
sistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
Our subje(!t received his education in I'hiladel- 
phia, read medicine when twenty-tive years old, 
and in 1851 was graduated from .lefferson Medi- 
cal College. He then came West looking for a lo- 
cation, settling first in Jersey County, III., where 
he remained one year, and then came to this city, 
m 185;5, practicing here until within tiie past 
three or four years. He went out as Assistant 
Surgeon of the One Hundred and Seventeenth Il- 
linois Infantry, serving ten months, and was 
then made Surgeon of the Third United States 
Heavy .\rtillery, colored, with which he remained 
two ^ears and eight mouths, being stationed all of 
the time at Memiihis. His entire service stretched 
through three and one-half years, and after the 
war he resumed his practice. 

In 18,si he received the nomination for the 
Legislatuie on the l{ei)ublican ticket and was 
elected. After his return from Springfield he 
went inlo business. At the time of the organiza- 
tion of the Oil City Uuilding and Savings Asso- 
ciation lie was the active mover in it, and was at 
that time made its President, the capital being 
I.tOO.OOO, which was afterward increased to §1,- 
000,000, all of it taken up. A proposition is now 
before the stockholders to increase it to 83,000,- 
000, The first series will soon be due. The asso- 



ciation charges notiiing for membership or books, 
and fifty cents per month on shares. There are 
six hundred stockholders, and the company has 
been the means of much saving to poor people. 

Dr. Hood bought out an insurance business at 
the time of retiring from practice, and has been a 
member of the City Council, Supervisor of the 
county, and a member of the School lioard. He 
built and owns the Masonic Block, beside other 
business and residence property in the city. Dr. 
Hood was married to Miss Matilda .lackson, of 
Philadelphia, to wlunn were born three children 
who now survive her: George P., who is station 
agent for the .Jacksonville A- Southeastern Rail- 
road; Frances and Anna. Dr. Hood again married, 
this wife being Abigail E. Torry, to whom were 
born two children, Harold and Louis. Our sub- 
ject is a Trustee in tlie Presbyterian Church, in 
which he is a very [irominent member. He is also 
a popular member of the (Tiand .\rmy of the Re- 
public. At one time he was a member of the 
County and Central Medical Associations, but has 
not attended recently. 




G. BUEEINGTOX, M. 1). The original vi 
the sketch to which our attention is now- 
directed is a rising young physician of the 
general school, who has already made a naine for 
himself in the town of Litchfield, where he has 
been located since 1886. In tiie village of .lersey- 
ville. III., on May 22, 1859, Dr. .1. II. and Frances 
(Gordon) Bulfington liecame the parents of the 
briglit young man who has already shown the 
effect of grit and brains comliined in his make-up. 
The father of our subject was liorn in Philadel- 
phia, and was there educated, and came to Illinois 
when the wild aiiim.als and the still wilder Indians 
had not wholly disappeared from the region around 
what now is .Tersey ville, III. The medical profes- 
! sion seemed to be the one mo>t desired in the fam- 
ily, as a brother, an uncle of t>ur subject, also em- 



506 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



braced it, and now is occupying the position of 
Professor in liie celebrated Rusli Medical College 
of Chicago, where the most wonderful displays of 
medical and siu-gical skill have been made in tlie 
past few jears that the world has ever seen. Dr. 
lUiftington praf-ticed his profession at Jerseyville 
until the time of his deatii. and he left three ciiil- 
dren to mourn his loss: Dr. CD., of Atwater; Mrs. 
Claia E. Roberts, a widow of this place; and the 
subject of this sketch. 

Our subject grew to manhood in Jerseyville, and 
attended the High Sciiool of this place. He then 
chose the profession of his father for his life work, 
and for this he has proven himself peculiarly lifted. 
He engaged with Dr. Iladway to read medicine 
with him, and continued under this prominent 
physician until lie w.as prepared to enter the Mis- 
souri Medical College of St. Louis, where he at- 
tended lectures during 1879-80-81. He was one 
of the graduates in the Class of '81, and located in 
.Jersey County for his flrst practice, ten miles west 
of Jersej-ville. and there he remained for five 
years. He was successful, and was made the 
county physician for one year, but he was ambi- 
tious and desired to get into a wider sphere. The 
opening in Litchfield for a young and progressive 
physician seemed good, and he came to this place 
in 1886. He could scarcely have done better in 
any jilace, as his ability has been recognized and 
lie has become very popular. He estimates that 
his practice in the first six years was $4,000 per 
year, and he has accumulated property in the 
city worth $7,000, and he now owns his office, his 
fine residence and two other places of value. 

Dr. Bufflngton has not become a member of any 
societies as yet in this localitj-, but during his stay 
in Jersey County, he was a member of the medical 
society there. He now is the examiner for the 
brakcmen who desire positions on the Jackson- 
ville & Southeastern Railroad. 

The marriage of our subject took place May 29, 
1889, to Miss Anna lluddleston, of M.acouijin 
County, born January 10, 1871. She was the 
daughter of the late Samuel Huddleston, who was 
the largest land-owner in the county of Macoupin, 
having no le.sg than thirteen hundred acres. Mi's. 
BuUiugtou is a lady of rare accomplishments, hav- 



ing been educated at the Blackburn University at 
Carlinville, and in her and her husband Litchfield 
society has gained two very desirable members. 
The Doctor has two brothers now deceased, wiio dur- 
ing their lifetime were engaged in the drug busi- 
ness, one m Jerseyville, 111,, the other in Indianola, 
Iowa, 



4^ 



WILLIAM WILSON, Our subject is a young 
man of much promise, being intelligent, 
energetic and progressive. He resides in 
Harvel Townshi|), Montgomery County, 111., on 
section 9, and was born in Madison County, 
111., February 22, 1859, the son of William and 
Agnes (Anderson) Wilson, both natives of Scot- 
land, who emigrated to America in 1848 or 1849. 
The father came with his family to Montgomery 
County in 18(52, and settled upon the farm where 
our subject now resides, the whole coiuitry being 
then a wild prairie, and he a very early pioneer. 
He was a self-made man and the father of eight 
children, four of whom survive, viz.: James; 
Susan, the wife of Mark Worrell, and William and 
Peter, all of whom are living in Kingman 
County, Kan. The father died in December, 
1864, his wife still surviving him at the age of 
sixty-four, making her home chiefiy in Kingman 
County, Kan., with her children. 

Our subject grew up to man's estate in this new 
country, seeing it gradually developed and improve 
until it has reached its present state of prosperit\-. 
His schooling was received in the home district, 
alternating attendance there with work upon the 
farm. He was married September 10, 1885, to 
Minnie, daughter of Ilanka and K. Jelder, resi- 
dents of Harvel Township. Three children have 
blessed this union, viz.: William, born July 7, 
1886; Margaret, June IS, 1 889; and Henry, Sep- 
tember 12, 1891. Mr. Wilson is an ardent Repub- 
lican, is interested in all matters looking to the 
advanc^ement of his community, and is now serv- 
ing his first term as Coinmissiyner oi Highways. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



507 



His well-improved farm consists of two hundred 
acres. He is a prominent member of the P\armers' 
Mutual Benefit Association. 

Mr. Wilson owes his success in life mainly'to 
his own unassisted efforts, being practically a self- 
made man. He is not easily discouraged, is ac- 
customed to tiiink before he acts, and makes very 
few mistakes, and, not being afraid of work, does 
not get impatient while waiting for results. Such 
a man exerts a good influence in liis communit3' 
by his example, and he has the best wishes of his 
neighbors and friends for his complete success in 
life. 



-^^l 



H> 



■ei 



1,|^#^ 



R. VOORIIEES, the subject of this sketch, 
1^ is the proprietor and manager of the Litch- 
^^^/ field Livery, Feed and Sales Stables. He 
was born in this county and State, eight miles 
south of this place, April 22. 18().'5. lie is the 
son of A. S. Yoorhees, of whom it will be inter- 
esting to give a short sketch. 

A. S. Voorhees was born in Piinceton, N. J., 
on tlie 25th of November, 1836, and was edu- 
cated in Jersey County. His father, Robert "S'oor- 
hees, came to Alton first, and then removed 
to Jerseyville, where he lived until his son was 
ten years old. He then removed into the country 
on a farm, where he remained until 1855, when he 
came to this countv. He settled seven miles south 
of this village, the countr}' around being all prai- 
rie at that time. He located on a farm which had 
been partly improved, but from 1870 to 1876 he 
lived in Walshville and Nokomis, engaged in dif- 
ferent employments. He came to Litchfield in 
tlie latter year. Mr. Voorhees married Miss Mary 
D. Murphy, of tiiis county, but who was born in 
Jersey County. To this union were born three 
children: E. R., Nellie and Katie. 

After the removal of his father to Nokomis 
and Walshville, our subject attended the schools of 
these place's, and also went to school after iiis ar- 
rival here. He began his first ^york oji a farm in 

24 



1876, and continued at this labor some time, dur- 
ing which season he'was careful and provident, 
and naturally became possessed of some means. 
He then went into a stable for about sixteen months 
and there became acquainted with the haliits and 
needs of horses. He was aljout this time given 
an opportunity to make a trip through Arkansas 
and Texas with a railway contractor, and gained 
not only a knowledge of the country, but a con- 
siderable amount of practical information. Upon 
his return he engaged in work for SliefHe Broth- 
ers for twenty months, and then went into a foun- 
dry, where he remained one year. 

All of this time Mr. Voorhees IkuI been taking- 
care of the pence, and as a matter of course the 
pounds then cared for themselves, and he found 
himself in a position to enter into business for 
himself. He entered a new building north of the 
Park with new ni.achinery, and there he continued 
for three years. In 1891 he was prosperous 
enough to warrant more extended expenditure, 
and he established himself in the new l)rick build- 
ing, which was built liy Wilton for the purpose, 
located opposite the new hotel on Ryder Street. 
He sold out the old barn and now gives all of his 
attention to this place. 

The marriage v( Mr. Voorhees took jjlace De- 
cember 24, 1881), to Miss Ida Brokaw, the daugh- 
ter of A. Brokaw, of South Litchfield. One child 
has blessed this union, Clarence. The Presbyte- 
ri.an C'hurch is the religious denomination to which 
our subject belongs. 



-^3bk£ 






ylLLIAM C. H. SMITH. Tncle Sam h.as 
placed in charge of the i)ostal service in 



^^^ the village of Reno, Bond County, the 
gentleman whose name appears above. He unites 
with his duties as a (Government official the busi- 
ness of mercliant, Mr. Smith was born in what is 
now Lyon County. Ky., on the Cumlierland River, 
near Eddyvillc, June 11, 1828. He is a son of 
Thomas and Sarah (Hall) Smilh, the former a n^. 



508 



i'ORTRAlT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tive of North Carolina, where he was born No- 
vember 17, 1803. When a child his parents re- 
moved to Kcntuckj', and there, March 18, 1827, 
was married to onr subject's mother. 

William Smith is the eldest of a family of nine 
children. Of this number only five are now liv- 
ing: our subject; Pernecy, who is tlie wife of 
.Tames W. Jett, of LaGrange Township, Bond 
County, was born December 9, 1830; Elizabeth, 
who was born March 23, 1835, married William 
.Tett, and is now a widow, living in Crawford 
County, Kan.; Nancy was born December 11, 
1836, and married ,]ohn P. Haley, and is a widow 
living at Donnellsou, 111.; and Isaac F., who was 
born December 31, 1840, is now a farmer at Cuba, 
Kf-n. 

In Ma}', 1839, the family came to Illinois and 
spent one season. They then went to Missouri, 
but not finding that to their taste soon returned 
to Bond County and located on a farm east of 
Reno, where our subject's father died January 26, 
1853. The mother passed away some thirteen 
years before, the date of her decease being Decera- 
31, 1840. 

Our subject received but a common-school edu- 
cation, and followed farming until 1873, when he 
became interested in the mercantile business at 
Elm Point, and there continued until 1881, when 
he came to Reno, since which time he has been 
constantly engaged in mercantile pursuits. Be- 
fore coming to Reno he was Postmaster at Elm 
Point for a good many years, and since becoming 
a resident of this village has held the office con- 
stantly with the exception of the term of the 
Cleveland administration. He has been a life- 
long Republican, and has served as Justice of the 
Peace for twelve years. From 1861 to 1864 he 
acted as Constable. 

Mr. Smith's marriage occurred .luly 6, 1852, his 
bride being Miss Nancy L. Laughlin. She died 
January 28, 1856, and left her husband two chil- 
dren: Mary Eveline, born July 3, 1853, is now 
the wife of James 1). Baker, who is a farmer 
in Missouri; and Sarah M., who was born March 
26, 1856, married a Mr. Carroll; she died in Reno 
April 2, 1887. Feeling that his children needed a 
jnother's care he persuaded a Miss CipdrilU Gwyn 



to take her place as mistress of his home and 
heart. They were married April 2, 1857. She 
passed away from this life December 27, 1890. Mr- 
and Mrs. Smith were the parents of four children 
two of whom are now living: Nancy Alice, the 
wife of Joseph N. Curlee, who lives in Baxter, 
Ark.; and Ellen M., who is the wife J. Nelson 
Dressor, who resides near Reno. 

Our subject is a man who for years has com- 
manded the utmost respect as well as personal re- 
gard of his fellow-men. As head of his family he 
has been a most exemplar^' husband and father, 
and the public trusts have been guarded as care- 
fully as though they were his individual affairs. 



v^ 



SH* / 



>.^=.j.= 



'^^^ M. BARLOW, manager of the Co-opera- 
,W^^\ tive Association Store of Walsh ville, and 
V^g/ a widol3--known and prominent business 
man, was born on his father's farm in Grisham 
Township, Montgomery County, May 25, 1851. 
His parents were Jo.seph and Nancy (Blair) Bar- 
low. The father was born in Memphis, Tenn., in 
1801, of Scotch parentage, the grandfather of our 
subject having come to this countr}"^ prior to the 
Revolutionary War. .Joseph Barlow was a man of 
good education, and became a Presbyterian min- 
ister. In 1825 he and his three brothers, John, 
William and James, left their native State and 
started for Illinois. The last-named located in 
Saline County, but the others continued their 
journey to Montgomery Count}-, and located in 
the township where our subject was born. There 
his father engaged in farming, teaching school and 
in preaching until his death, which occurred on 
the old homestead in 1870. His wife was born in 
this county. Her parents were natives of the 
Keystone State, but came to Illinois iit a very 
early d.ay. 

We now take up tiie personal history of Mr. 
Barlow, whose name heads this record. He 'was 
the youngest of a family of ten children, two sons 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



',09 



and eight daughters, and with tlie exception of 
two sisters all are yet living. His mother died in 
ISr)',), when he was only eight 3ears of age. He was 
educated mostly by his father,and in his youth was 
early inured to the labors of the farm. When 
only sixteen years of age he was married, the 
lady of his ciioice being Miss Nancy E. IMcPhail, 
daughter of James McPhaii, one of the jiioneer 
settlers of this county. By their union have been 
born four children, three sons and one daughter, 
but the latter, Lillie, died at the age of one year. 
Charles married Annie Haley; Ellis and Thomas 
arc still upon the home farm. 

]S[r. Barlow exercises his rigiit of franchise in 
support of the Republican party, following in the 
footsteps of his father, and for about six years 
served as Constable, discliarging his duties with 
promptness and fidelity. After his marriage he 
embarked in farming for liimself, and carried on 
agricultural pursuits until about two years ago, 
when he came to Welshville and assumed the 
management of the Co-operative Association Store. 
In this capacity he is now employed. Mr. Barlow 
is a iHipular gentleman, widely and favorably 
known in this his native county. Those wliohavc 
been acciuaintcd with him from Ijoyliood are num- 
bered among his stanchest friends, a fact which 
indicates the honorable, upriglit life wiiicii he has 
lived. 



EORGE MUNHi. The farming community 
of Bond County has received a recent val- 
uable addition in this gentleman, who in 
1892 removed iiither from St. Clair County and 
purchased a farm. In addition to general farming, 
tie is considerably interested in stock-raising, in 
which he has met with more than usual succes.s. 
A practical, energetic and persevering farmer, he 
uses modern methods of agriculture and the latest 
improved machinery, and his recently-purchased 
estate already gives indications of his skill and 
judgment. 

The province of Lorraine, then owned by France, 




but secured by Germany In the Franco-Prussian 
War, was the native place of our subject, and Aug- 
ust 24, 1844, the date of his birth. His father, 
Paul Munie, was born in that [jrovince in 1800, 
and there grew to manhood, choosing as his wife 
a lady who was likewise born in Lorraine. In 
1853, the family emigrated to the United States, 
and, after landing at New Orleans, came by boat 
u)) the Mississii)pi River to St. Louis, whence tiiey 
proceeded to Illinois, and settled upon a farm in 
St. Clair Township, St. Clair County. There the 
father remained eng.aged in .agricultural occupa- 
tions until his death, which occurred April 17, 
1866; his wife survived until 1881, passing away 
March 2.5 of that year. 

The following is recorded of the brothers and 
sisters of our subject: Magdalena married George 
Buchler and resided in St. Clair Township, St. 
Clair County; Hyacinth chose as his wife Miss 
Louise Adams, and they reside upon a farm near 
Freeburg in Smithton Township, .St. Clair County; 
Joseph married Christina Germain, and is a well- 
to-do farmer residing in St. Clair Township; Mary 
Ann; George, the youngest child, was reared on 
his father's farm in St. Clair Township, and in his 
youth was a student in the common schools, later 
attending the Catholic schools in Belleville. 

The estimable lady who, on April 10, 1866, became 
the wife of Mr. Munie, was born April 17, 1848, 
and bore the maiden name of Adeline Tribout. 
She was one of six surviving children among 
the thirteen born to Bonaventura and Margaret 
(Fournie) Tribout, the former a farmer in St. Clair 
County until his death May 5, 1881, at the age of 
seventy-five. The mother lives on the old home- 
stead two miles north of Belleville, and is in full 
possession of her mental faculties, notwithstanding 
her advanced age of seventy-eight. Eleven chil- 
dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Munie, who 
are named George J., Magdalena, Katherina, Rosa, 
Louis, Erail3', John, Arthur, N'ictor, Lawrence and 
Edmond. Katherina died at the age of eighteen 
years; Rosa, when six; Louis at four, and Emil3' in 
infancy. The others reside under the parental 
roof, and are gaining good educations in the 
schools of the county. 

Mr, Munie removed to Hot Springs, Ark., 



510 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



having sold his farm in St. Clair Township, and 
for several months engaged in the wholesale pro- 
duce business. He was not satisfied with that 
•State, however, and soon returned to his former 
])lace of residence, wiiere for about two years he 
was proprietor of an hotel in Belleville. He then 
boug'lit back liis old homestead in St. Clair County 
and resided there until 1892, when, realizing that it 
was too small to give employment to himself and 
sons, he sold it and bought the above-mentioned 
estate in Bond County. He is independent in 
politics and is a man of decided beliefs and force 
of will. He finds his religious home in the Catli- 
olic Church, in which faith he was reared, and to 
which he has ever been devoted. 



S^****!- 
^♦♦•{••5-F 




Tf/ ARDIN ELMORE. The gentleman whose 
sketch we now puipose to place before the 
public is a prominent farmer of Zion 
Township, and is located on section 12, 
in tills township. Bond County, 111. He was born 
in Russell County, Ky., August 19, 1826. He owns 
four liundred acres of fine land and is a man well 
known in this locality. 

The father of our subject was Hiram El- 
more and lie was a native of North Carolina but 
was reared in Kentucky. His father died about 
the time he was born and his mother (our subject's 
respected grandmother) died in Bond County at 
the age of one hundred and five years. The 
mother of the gentleman of whom we write was 
Sarah Walker and she was a native of Kentucky-, 
where she was born and reared. Her father was 
.lames Walker, and he was an early settler of Mont- 
gomery County, 111. 

The father and motliei- of our subject were 
married in the Slate of Kentucky, where they lo- 
cated, but came to Illinois in 1830 and settled in- 
liond County, within Mulberry Grove Township, 
and there improved land which \y!is obtained from 



the Government. In 1831 tliey moved upon tt 
farm where our subject now lives. They wer 
enterprising people and were willing to make th 
best of circumstances. They lived in a rail pe 
for a time, until they could get the log cabin buil 
and enjoyed the life when the wolves were n( 
unusually bold. Those were days wlien luxuri( 
were not thought of and where a contented min 
gave more comfort than much money does i 
these extravagant times. The mother died man 
years ago, and the father married again, h 
second wife Ijeing Miss Lucy Curlee. From tl 
first marriage eight children resulted and froi 
the second there were two. 

Our subject is the oldest child of the first ma 
riage, and he has two sisters living. He was foi 
years old when he was brought into Bond Count; 
and he remembers the first school he attendei 
This was kept m a little log house, 12x14 feet, an 
in this temple of learning the foundations of h 
education were laid. The 3'oung man remained : 
home until the year 1816, when he enlisted i 
Company E, Third Volunteer Infantry-, for tl 
war with Mexico under Col. Zenas Foreman. A 
though not wounded, our subject felt the effec 
of the war for three years after, as for that tiir 
he was sick. 

The first marriage of Mr. Elm-ore was with Mii 
Sarah Secrns, and at her death she left thr( 
children, but only one remains at this time. Th 
is Mr. Russell Elmore, who resides in iMulberr 
Grove. The second marriage of our subject too 
place .July 14, 1864, to Miss Mary E. Roberts, 
native of Bond County, and the daughter c 
Richard S. Roberts. Five children have been bori 
of this marriage, Frank, Martha, Florence, liliz! 
beth and Lafayette. 

The large amount of land which Mr. Elmoi 
has under control numbers him among th 
land princes of the township. Almost all c 
it he has under cultivation and upon it he carrie 
on general farming and does well in raising stock 
He has a preference for the Jefferson ian princi 
pies of the Democratic party, and the ideas of tha 
party upon tariff and taxation of all kinds mee 
his approval. His family is one well known aiii 
higiily regarded in the ueighbofhood, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



511 



E. DEE, one of tlie well-known resideuts of 
Mulberry Grove, carries on a floiirisliing 
milling business in this place. The fatlier 
jf our subject was named Hiram Dee, and he was 
I native of Vermont, born in 1812, and was reared 
in ills native place, whei'c he conducted a shoc- 
naker sho}). The father tif Hiram was named 
Washington, for the Father of our country, was a 
lative of Vermont, and was of Scotch-Dutch par- 
jntage. The mother of our subject was Mary 
^Valker, and she was a native of Vermont also, and 
^■as reared in her native village, and in that State 
)ur subject's parents were married. Thcj removed 
o Des ftloines County, Iowa, and lived there un- 
il 18.51, when they came into Madison County, 
uid located near St. Jacobs, where the father died 
n 1863, and the mother in 188,5. The former 
.ook part in the Civil War, having been a member 
)f Company I), One Hundred and Seventeeth lUi- 
lois Infantry, and served his country faithfully. 
Hr. and Mrs. Dee were the parents of eleven chil- 
Iren, seven of whom grew to maturity, and six of 
hem are still living. The eldest of these is the 
ubjectof the present sketch, Charles. The others 
,re, Lavina C, Warren W., Clara O., James G., and 
jaurence W. 

Our subject is tiie second .son and cliild in the 
aniily. Being tlie eldest of the living children, 
he responsibility of the family fell upon him 
fter his father's death. His first schooling was 
ibtained in Iowa, where he attended the subscrii)- 
ion schools, and after he came into this State, he 



went to school in St. Clair County. He remained 
with his mother caring for the family until his 
marriage. This important event took place Au- 
gust -1, 1870, wlien he made Miss Sarah B. Riley 
his wife. Siie was the daughter of William Riley, 
and was a native of Bond County, where she grew 
to womanhood. 

Our subject came into this county in 1869, and 
located at Mulberry Grove, and there engaged in 
the sawmilling business, in wliich he continued 
for one year, when he started a tlouring mill, and 
has made a very successful business of this en- 
terprise. His mill is one of the latest In all im- 
provements, .and is a sixty-barrel roller mill, and 
his (lour is in great demand. Ills trade is con- 
stantly increasing, for the staff of life is a neces- 
sary adjunct to every family, and all prudent peo- 
ple soon find where the best Hour can be olitained- 
Poor flour makes poor bread, and tliat Is dear at 
any price. 

Mr. and Mrs. Dee became the parents of tliree chil- 
dren, of whom two are living, (ieorge and Wallace; 
Charles E. died at the age of sixteen months. Mr. 
Dee is a Republican in his political [n-eference, and 
cast his first vote for Abraham Tvincoln, and has 
voted with that party since. In his church relation- 
ship, our subject is iirominently connected with 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, and In that de- 
nomination he is Trustee and Class -leader. He is 
a man of means, and one who possesses the esteem 
of the whole neighborhood. 








The Wabash. 

S)0 THE public and our thousands of readers 
in general: It will no doubt be interesting 
to all if we give a brief description of this 
road. The Wabash, as now known, has been oper- 
ated under different names from time to time. It 
is the offspring, as it were, of the first line of 
road projected in Illinois, then known as the 
Northern Cross Railroad, extending from Dan- 
ville to Quincv. This was chartered in 18.37, and 
upon it the first locomotive was placed in the 
winter of 1838-39, running from Meredosia, on the 
Illinois River, to .Jacksonville. In 1842, the road 
was completed from .Jacksonville to Springfield, 
and three trips per week were made. The track 
was of the old Hat-rail style, wliicli was made by 
nailing thin strips of iron on two parallel lines of 
timbers placed at the proper distance apart and 
running lengthwise of the road. The engine, as 
well as the road, became so impaired that the 
former had to be abandoned and mules substituted 
as the motor power. IIf)wever, such locomotion 
was destined to be of short duration, for the State 
soon after sold the entire road for a nominal sum, 
and thus for a short time was suspended one of 
the first railroad enterprises in Illinois. But in 
the West a new era-one of prodigious industrial ac- 
tivity and far-reaching results in the practical arts 
— was dawning, and within thirty years of the tem- 
porary failure of the road mentioned, Illinois had 
outstripped all others in gigantic internal improve- 



ments, and at present has more miles of railroad 
than an}' other State in the Union. The Great 
Western, whose name has been successively 
changed to Toledo, Wabash & Western, Wabash, 
and Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific, and Wabash 
Railroad, and The Wabash, the last of which it 
still bears, was an extension of the Northern 
Cross Railroad above mentioned, and traverses 
some of the finest portions of Illinois, Indiana and 
Ohio. It soon became the popular highway of 
travel and traffic between the East and the West. 
Through a S3 stem of consolidation unparalleled in 
American railways, it has become a giant among 
them, and has added many millions of dollars to 
the value of bonds and shares of the various com- 
panies now incorporated in the Wabash System, 
rhe road takes its title from the river of that 
name, a tributary of the Ohio, which in part sep- 
arates the States of Illinois and Indiana. In look- 
ing over the maps of the Wabash Railroad it will 
be seen that the line extends through the most 
fertile and wealthy portions of the center of the 
United States, having termini at more large cities 
than any other Western road. It was, indeed, a 
far-reaching sagacity which consolidate<l these var- 
ious lines into the Wabash System, forming one 
immense chain of great commercial activity- and 
power. Its terminal facilities are unsurpassed by 
any competing line. Its home oftices are estab- 
lished in commodious quarters in St. Louis. The 
lines of the road are co-extensive with the impor- 
tance of the great transportation facilities required 



TR ANSPORTATI ON. 



513 



for the pi'oduets of the Mississippi Valley. This 
line passes through the States of Iowa, Missouri, 
huliaua, Oliio and IMichigan. The various lines 

of road inav he divided into the following: 

" 31iles. 

St. Louis to Chicago 28(5 

Toledo to Kansas City G62 

St. Louis to DesMoines 360 

Logansport to Detroit 207 

Chicago to Laketon .lunction 123 

Clayton to Keokuk 42 

I'.luffs to < iuincy lO.i 

Streator to Forest 37 

Attica to Covington 15 

Champaign to Sidne}' 12 

i'xlwardsville to Edwardsvillc Crossing. 9 

l.ement to Altamont &: Effingham 63 

IJrunswick to Omaha 225 

Koseberry to Clarinda 21 

Salisbury to Glasgow 15 

Centralia to Columbia 22 



Total miles of main lines and branches. . 2204 

l-"roni the above main lines and branches as in- 
dicated it will readily be seen that the Wabash 
connects with more large cities and great marts of 
trade than any other line, bringing Omaha, Kan- 
sas City, Ues Moines, Keokuk, Quincy, St. Louis, 
Chicago, Toledo and Detroit together with one 
continuous line of steel rails. This road has an 
immense freiglit traffic of the cereals, live slock, 
various productions and manufactured articles of 
the West, and the States through which it passes. 
Its facilities for rapid transit for the vast produc- 
tions of the packing houses of Kansas City, St. 
Louis and Chicago to Detroit. Toledo and the East- 
ern marts of trade is um'i|ualled. A large jjortion 
flf the grain i)roductions of Kansas, Nebraska, 
Iowa, Missouri, Illinois and Indiana linds its way 
to the Eastern markets over the lines of this road. 
The Wabash has always taken an advanced posi- 
tion in tniiffs. and its course toward its patrons 
has been just and lilieral, so that it h.as always en- 
joyed the commendation of the luisiuess and trav- 
eling public. The roadbed i.^ one of the best in 
the country, and is ballasted with gravel and 
stone, well tied, and laid with steel rails. The 
bridges along the various lines are substantial 
structures. The depots, grounds and general 
property of the road are in good condition. The 



management if the Wabash is fully abreast of the 
times. The road is progressive in every respect. 
The finest passenger cars on the continent are run 
fin its lines, and every effort is made to advance 
the interests of its patrons. The passenger de- 
partment is unexcelled for the elegant and sub- 
stantial comfort afforded travelers. The sleeping 
cars on some of the most important lines are of 
the compartment system, upholstered in a costly 
and tasteful manner, each room supplied with hot 
and cold water. On several of the main branches 
of the system dining cars are run. 



lUiiiois Central Railroad. 

<^^^HIS is one of the largest corporations in lUi- 
m'^\\ "'''®' •'^"'^^ with its splendid terminal facili- 
\sj^' ties in Chicago, and its numerous suburltan 
trains, has been a potent factor in linilding up the 
South Side and South Chicago, while at the same 
time enriching itself. Its management has always 
been careful and conservative, and it is not too 
much to say that it has been most i)otential in de- 
veloping many of the rich agricultural districts of 
the State, besides fostering and encouraging the 
growth of towns and cities along its line. As 
this was one of the early roads of the State it will 
not be uninteresting to give a brief history of its 
inception. 

In September, l.S5(), Congress (lassed an act, 
and it was a|)[)roved by President Fillmore, grant- 
ing an aggregate of two million five hundred and 
ninety-five thousand and fifty-three acres to aid in 
building the road. The act granted the right of 
way and gave alternate sections of land for six 
miles on either side of the road. The grant of 
land was made directly to the State. On February 
10, 1851, the Legislature of Illinois granted a 
charter to an Eastern company to build it, with a 
capital stock of * 1,000,000. The Legislature, in 
granting the charter and transferring to the cor- 
poration the lands, stipulated that seven per cent, 
of the gross earnings of the road should be paid 
semi-annually into the treasury of the State for- 



514 



TRANSPORTATION. 



ever. This wise provision, in lieu of tlie liberal 
land grant, yields a handsome annual revenue to 
the State. Also, tlial in the event of war. Gov- 
ernment transportation should be furnished at a 
certain reduction from the prices regularly paid 
by the General Government for such services. 

Tlie proceeds of land sales have been regularly 
applied to the redemption of construction bonds, 
and it is significant that the original issue of 
mortgage bonds amounted to ^22,000,000. That 
amount has been so reduced that in 1892 the 
whole issue will be practically retired, and the 
stockholders will own a road in Illinois more than 
one thousand miles in length, fully equi|)ped, and 
with no outstanding liability other than the share 
of capital. It may be noted here that when the 
General Government donated lands to the States 
of Illinois, Mississippi and Alabama, it was in- 
tended that through the aid derived from these 
lands a through arterj- of travel should be estab- 
lished between the Lakes and Gulf ports. Had the 
war not supervened, the project would then have 
been carried out in its entirety, and the North and 
South movement of traffic would have been fully- 
developed, but the enforced delay in carrying out 
the original program vvas utilized in building up 
the State of Illinois and in perfecting the track of 
this road. Strict attention to local business has 
always been a marked characteristic of the Illinois 
Central Railroad man.agement. 

By an extensive system of railroad construction 
and by its leased lines, the Illinois Central Rail- 
road has termini in manj^ important centers of 
trade in the Missouri and Mississippi Valleys, as 
well as the great chain of Lakes at Chicago. 
Through this vast system Chicago is brought into 
close connection witli Sioux Falls, Dak.; Sioux 
City, Cedar Rapids and Dubuque, Iowa; Lyle, 
Minn.; and Dodgeville and Madison, Wis. Its 
traffic also extends to St. Louis, Mo., through run- 
ning arrangements over the lines of the Vandalia 
and Cairo Short Line Railroads. Its " Diamond 
Special," between Chicago and St. Louis, is rapidly 
acquiring popularity with the traveling public, 
owing to its splendid equipment and rapid time. 
Over the Big Four Road connection is made with 
Indianapolis and Cincinnati, and with its Spring- 



field Division the Illinois Central reaches the cap- 
ital of Illinois, and taps the center of the 
great corn belt. At Cairo the Ohio River is 
spanned by a magnificent steel bridge, from which 
point south connections are made with the great 
cotton marts of INIemphis, and the principal cities 
of Mississipiii, and New Orleans. Thus it will be 
seen that the great metropolis nestling on the 
shores of Lake Michigan by this sinuous artery of 
steel is brought into direct traffic relations with 
the leading marts in the sunny South, .as well as 
the semi-arctic regions of D.akota, affording the 
traveler, both in summer and winter, unsurpassed 
facilities for reaching a pleasant clime. 



^¥r 



Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, 

'S^sOPULARLY known as the Santa Fe Route. 
_l )) The initial line of this great system was 
^ ^ first built from Atchison to Topeka in 
jl\ 1869, and for many 3'ears the former city 
was the Eastern terminus of the road. The man- 
agement of the Santa Fe, with wonderful energy, 
pushed out its lines in every direction into the 
young and growing State of Kansas, and in the 
majority of instances preceding settlement and 
civilizaticm. Tliis road was the first to penetrate 
across the .southern part of Colorado, via Pueblo 
and Trinidad, into New Mexico, until its lines pen- 
etrated the old adobe town of Santa Fe, whose 
citizens were half .Spanish and half Mexican. As 
its course penetrated the wilderness, it sometimes 
followed the Old Santa Fe Trail, and generally 
not far distant at an}' time from the trail which 
had been made famous .years before by trappers 
and the Government freighters. The marvelous 
growth and development of the State of KaiKsas is 
in a great measure due to the enterprise and pub- 
lic spirit of the managers of the Santa Fe System. 
Not only did tiiey devote their energy to the up- 
building of the road, but at great expense they 
maintained emigration and colonial agents in the 
various countries of Europe, as well as the Eastern, 
Middle and Southern States, tliereb}- advertising 



TRANSPORTATION. 



515 



tlie State of Kansas as no other State has hereto- 
fore been done. Its climate, its soil, and great ad- 
vantages to the homeseeker, were at all times full}- 
portrayed by the enterprise of this road. Kvery 
fostering care was giva^n to the stock and rancii- 
inen, to the merchant, to the mechanic and the 
mannfactiirer to settle in Kansas. As a result, 
we have a State here in tlie center of tiie Union, 
of boundless agricultural resources, settled by a 
wide-awake, enterprising and prosperous people. 
The Santa Fe owns and operates more miles of 
road in Kansas than an_y other line, with its vast 
system of Kast and "West, North and South lines 
reaching every important town in the State, and 
jienetrating sixty-three counties in Kansas ahme. 
The magnitude of its business is immense. Its 
lines, beginning at the Missouri River towns in 
Kansas and Missouri, St. Joseph, Atchison, 
Leavenworth and Kansas City, extend south to 
Coffeyville, Arkansas City, Ilonewell, Caldwell, 
Kiona (thence to the Pan Handle of Texas); .and 
Nortli to Superior, Neb., Concordia, Clay Centre, 
Minneapolis, and other Northern Kans.as cities. 
Its main line and branches reach nearl3' ever}- im- 
portant city in the State. St. Joseph on the INIis- 
souri side of the river has a population of nearly 
one hundred thousand, and its wholesale trade is 
heavy throughout the West. Atchison is a grow- 
ing ciiy, and Leavenworth an important manufac- 
turing center. LeaN'en worth was the earliest famous 
city of Kansas, as it was the original outfitting 
point for travel and tratlic across the plains. The 
Kansas System maj' be described as a main East 
and West line, over four hundred miles in length, 
with branch lines extending in every direction 
where an area of particularly rich country or 
some other special advantages invited a line of 
rails. 

The road from Topeka after ISG'J was extended 
West and South, and then East to Kansas City by 
purchase of a line built by another company from 
Kansas City in 1887-88. The line was extended 
to Chicago under the name of the Chicago, Santa 
Fe & California Railroad in 1887, also the pur- 
chase of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Road; and 
the extension of the Kansas lines through the In- 
dian Territorj- to Texas gave the company a line 



to the Gulf of Mexico, so that at the present time 
the Santa Fe System proper begins at Chicago. 
It passes through Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kan- 
sas, Colorado, Indian Territory, 'Tex.as, New Mex- 
ico, Arizona and California, and has for its South- 
ern terminal Galveston, on the (!ulf of Mexico, 
and El Paso, C)n the INIexican frontier; and for its 
Western terminals San Diego and Los Angeles, on 
the Pacific Coast (San Francisco lieing practicallv 
a Pacific Co.ast terminal, as it is reached, via JIo- 
jave, over the tracks of the Southern Pacific Rail- 
way); and for its Northern terminals Chicago, St. 
Joseph, Mo., Sui)erior, Nel)., aiicl Denver, the capi- 
tal of Colorado. 

Clilcago to Kansas City is [)racticall\- anair-liiie, 
being the most straight and direct of an}' road be- 
tween those cities. It passes tlirough a large 
1 nuiiilicr v( important towns in Illinois, including 
Joliet, with its grc.ut steel works and other manu- 
facturing interests. The next impoitant place is 
Slreator. A few miles south of the latter place a 
branch extends to the thriving cities of Peoria 
and Pckin, on tlie Illinois River. From Slreator 
the main line crosses the Illinois at Chillicothe, 
and extends through Peoria and Knox Counties 
to the beautiful and enterprising city of Gales- 
burg. Here it comes in competition with several 
lines of the Purlington System, then running in a 
Soutliwesterl_v direction through a rich and popu- 
lous section, crosses the Mississippi at Ft. Madi- 
son on a m.agniticent steel liridge. Here the com- 
pany have established shops, that being the ter- 
minus of the two operating divisions of the road. 
From Ft. Madison, Keokuk is reached by a spur. 
Along the Santa Fe new towns are springing up 
and new industries are being developed. Twenty 
miles East of Kansas City the Missouri River is 
crossed by a steel bridge, so that the line enters 
Kansas City on the south side of tlie river. From 
Kansas City to Topeka the line nms on the south 
liank of the Kansas River. At Wilder and Ilolli- 
day are points for the departure of branch lines — 
one Northward to Atchison, aiul the other South- 
ward through Ottawa and Southern Kansas, being 
known as the Southern Kansas Division of the 
Santa Fe System. From Lawrence to Topeka the 
road is still in the Kansas Vallc}-, through a veri- 



516 



TRANSPORTATION. 



table garden. Native trees of great height over- 
hang the r.ailwa}' here and there, and in the spring 
and summer the crops look green and luxuriant. 
The approach to Topelta is through the long j'ards 
and by the vast machine shoi)s of the Santa Fe 
Company', and across various broad streets to a com- 
modious brick station. The general offices of the 
road are in Toj)eka, and occupy a handsome and 
commodious building near the Slate Capitol. 
From Topeka to Denver tlie Santa Fe route runs 
for about seventj^-tlve miles in a southwesterly di- 
rection to the upper wateis of the Neosho River. 
At Emporia, passing through Osage County, are 
found some of the richest coal fields of the West. 
At Newton the line diverges South through vSouth- 
ern Kansas, the Indian Territory and Texas to 
(iaiveston. Continuing West from Newton the 
first city of importance re.ached is Hutchinson. 
Here are some of the heaviest salt works in the 
United States, besides other extensive manufactur- 
ing interests. 

At La .Junta, Colo., the line for New Mexico, 
Arizona and beyond turns South. Pueblo, sixty- 
five miles due West of La Junta, for years the ter- 
minus of the Santa Fe S3'stem, is a growing man- 
iif.acturing city. It is admirably located with ref- 
erence to the great ore-producing canons of Colo- 
rado. All roads leading to it ship coal, iron, silver, 
gold, lead, copper, building stone, everything in 
fact which is produced in the greatest mining 
•State in the Union rolls naturally down hill to 
l'uel)lo. Beyond Pueblo to the west are many 
thriving cities founded on miningand agriculture, 
notable among which is Leadville, the greatest min- 
ing camp in Colorado, wiiile forty miles north of 
l'ueblo,on the line of the Santa Fe,are the beautiful 
cities of Colorado Springs and Manitou, nestling at 
the foot of Pike's Peak. Manitou is at the mouth 
of a deep canon, and is one of the most lovely sum- 
mer resorts in America. Near here is the famous 
(iardcn of the Gods, whose wondrous lieauty and 
grandeur are unsuip.assed. From Colorado Springs 
Westward lin-ough Manitou, and up the canon be- 
yond Pike's l'eak,tiie Colorado Midland Railroad is 
jjushing its way toward the western border of the 
State. Eighty miles north of Colorado Springs, 
the Santa Fe line terminates at Denver, a magnifi- 



cently built city. It is probable that no Ameri- 
can city has so many features of unique beauty as 
Denver. Its splendid public liuildings, and its 
broad avenues lined with beautiful residences, coz- 
ily located at the foot of the snow-capped moun- 
tains of the Rocky Range, render it unlike any 
other city of its size in the world. The ride from 
Pueblo to Denver along the foot of the mountains 
is one never to be missed. Tiie snow-covered 
peaks, the many combinations of sun, cloud, rain, 
snow, and the marvelous atmosphere, all combine 
to surprise and charm the beholder. 

Newton to Galveston. The line leaving the main 
East and West line in Kansas at Newton runs di- 
recti}' South to Galveston. The first place of im- 
portance reached is Wichita, located on the big 
and Little Arkansas Rivers, a city of thirty-five 
thousand people, where only a few years ago was 
an Indian trading post. South of Wichita is a 
cluster of growing cities, comprising Winfield, 
Wellington, Arkansas City and Caldwell. Wich- 
ita and Arkansas City have profited much b^' the 
opening up of Oklahoma to settlement. Entering 
the Indian Territory the line passes through a 
magnificent agricultural country, as yet almost 
wholly undeveloped, (ialveston, the terminus, is 
a rapidl}' growing city of fifty thousand inhabi- 
tants. It is charmingly situated on the Gulf 
coast, and has an unsurpassed climate in both 
summer and winter. 

La .Junta to El Paso. From La Junta the line 
climbs to the summit of the Raton Range, seven 
thousand six hundred and twenty-two feet above 
the sea. On the way up it jmsses through the im- 
portant Colorado towns of El Moro and Trinidad. 
The village of Raton is an important division 
point for the railway. And then comes Las Ve- 
gas and its famous hot springs, six miles distant 
from the main line, but connected witli it by a short 
line with good equipment. At the hot springs is 
the PhaMiix Hotel. The springs are unsur|)assed 
anywhere in the world, and the hotel is conducted 
by the compan3' in a most generous manner. The 
springs are fort3--two in number, are hot and 
cold, and have a variety of mineral properties 
which render them remarkably strong in their cur- 
ative power. South of Las Vegas the line passes 



TRANSPORTATION. 



517 



through fertile valleys. Iie.ivy forests and hiaek 
and rugged canons until the valley of the Rio 
Grande is reached. A branch line from Lamy ex- 
tends up the mountain to Santa Fe, the capital of 
New Mexico, next to St. Augustine the oldest 
city in America. Its quaint oid churches and 
dwellings are interspersed with modem stiuctuics. 
It should he seen before the peculiar charm of its 
antiquity has been entirely destroyed. AUniquer- 
que, Socorro and San Marcial are the chief points 
between Santa Fc and El Paso. All are important 
points for the business of mining, cattle-raising 
and general commerce. From liincon a branch 
line leads to Deming, where junction is made with 
the Southern Pacific Railway, and to Silver City, 
and to tlie other mining towns of Southern New 
Mexico. It is the fortunate destiny of New Mex- 
ico generally, and the Rio Grande Valley |)articu- 
larly, to soon take front rank in the line of fruit 
production. The grajjes |)roduced in the kiwer 
Rio Grande Valley are not snriiassed in either 
quality or quantity by the product in any part of 
the continent. From Albuquerque, in the heart of 
New Mexico, due West, the Atlantic & Pacific 
Railroad forms the main Santa Fe route to Cali- 
fornia. The line passes through a great mining 
and stock-raising country, where the climate is 
perfect. Prescott, the capital of Arizona, is 
reached by a branch from Prescott .lunction. 
Constant changes of scenery characterize the line. 
and the crossing of the Colorado Canon is one of 
tlie most remarkable accomplishments known in 
the railroad world. In Southern California the lines 
of the California Central and Southern reach every 
important city. Barstow, San Rernardino, Colton, 
San Diego, National City, Los Angeles, and a hun- 
dred other beautiful towns offer unec]ualed induce- 
ments to the seeker after health, wealth and pleas- 
ure. San Francisco and other cities of Central 
and Northern California are reached by the lines 
of the Southern Pacific by virtue of a special ar- 
rangement for traltic. 

Between Chicago and Kansas City meals are 
served on the finest dining cars. On the other 
lines and branches are superb eating-houses and 
hotels. 

From tlie resume thus given of the facilities pos- 



sessed by the Santa Fe Railway for interchanging 
trattic at its termini and various juncticms, it must 
be apparent to the reader that the line is admir- 
ably situated, and that in many respects it occu- 
])ics a strategic position, superior to that of other 
traus-JMissouri and Mississippi railroads. These 
advantages have been utilized in the past, as they 
will be in the future in developing the localities 
through which the various branches extend, and 
to build iqi tlie peniianeiit prosperity of the prop- 
erty whose history is so closely interwoven with 
the settlement, development and prosperity of the 
West beyond the Missouri River. Its local traffic 
compares favorably with that of other comiieting 
lines. To this purely local tratlic must be added 
the contributions of its several termini, all large 
cities and [irominent trade centers in the Missouri 
and Mississipjii N'alleys. With the growth and 
steady development of the manufacturing and 
other industries of Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas 
City, St. Joseph, Atchison, Leavenworth, Topeka, 
Wichita. Galveston, El Paso, Pueblo and Denver, 
since the middle of December, 18',(0, by means of 
running arrangements with the .lacksuii villc tt 
Southeastern Railroad, the Santa Fe has a 
through line from Chicago to St. Louis with a line 
equipment of palace cars. The Santa Fe Railway 
must natuially make corresponding strides toward 
attaining that proud financial position which has 
been the life dream of its originators and present 
owners. Under the present progressive and con- 
servative management all advantages of geograph- 
ical position, and all the resources of the tlirough 
line, will be constantly utilized in building up the 
future prosperity of the road itself, and in devel- 
oi)ing the extended area of Chicago's commercial 
supremacy. The land grant from the (iovernment 
amounted subs-tantially to three million acres. In 
brief, its commanding geogra[iliical position, 
coupled with its direct Eastern alliance for 
through business, must render the Santa !•'(■ event- 
ually one of the most remunerative of our West- 
ern railroads. 



518 



TRAN SPORTATI ON. 



St. Louis, Vandalia & Terre Haute Rail- 
road, 

ETTP^R known as the Vaudalia line. This 
v^ was the first and is still the principal road 
in Bond C'ount3-. The most important 
■~r^ stations on the line in that count}' are 
Greenville, Pocahontas and Mulberry Grove. In 
Jul}-, 1868, tiie first trains were run between East 
St. Louis and Highland, 111., and in July of the 
following jear the road was completed from East 
St. Louis to Effingham, ninety-eight miles, and 
through train service established between St. Louis 
and Chicago in connection with the Illinois Cen- 
tral Railroad, and in July, 1870, the last rails were 
laid between Efflnghani and the Indiana State 
line. Imniediatel}' tiiercafter a through line of 
sleeping cars was established between New York 
and St. Louis, and the " Vandalia Route " at once 
became the popular I'oute from St. Louis to the 
seaboard. 



Cleveland, Ciuciniiati, Cliicago & St. Louis 
Kailroa<l. 

(TIIK" I!1<; FOl.I! ") 

HIS line, popularly known as the " Big 
Four," as the above name would indicate, 
has terminal facilities in the four principal 
titles in the Mississippi and Ohio Valle^ys, and 
takes leading rank among the well-managed and 
tirst-elass railroads of this country. B3' purchase 
and lease the management has largely extended 
its mileage, while at the same time perfecting and 
improving its equipment. The roadbed is of sub- 
stantial build, well ballasted, and laid with steel 
[•ails, and splendid facilities ye afforded its pa- 
trons both in freight and passenger traffic. The 
most important stations on its line in Montgom- 
2ry County are Litchfield, Hillsboro, and Noko- 
mis. 



nm 



IS 



JacksonvlUo ^ 



eastern. 

HLS road has foji^^^F^northern terminals 
Pekin and Peoria^ffom which cities it runs 
^>/ in a southwesterly direction to Jacksonville, 
it which latter place its general offices and head- 




quarters are. From Jacksonville it extends in a 
southeasterly direction through the counties of 
Morgan, Sangamon, Macoupin, Montgomery, Bond, 
Clinton, Marion and Jefferson to Mt. Vernon. The 
most important station on this branch south of 
Jacksonville is Litchfield, the principal city of 
Montgomery County. At Sorento, in Bond County, 
it crosses the line of the Toledo, St. Louis & Kan- 
sas City Railroa#i and at Smithboro the Vandalia, 
in Bond County. Extensive repair shops have 
been established at Mt. Vernon and Jacksonville. 
From Litchfield a branch of this line extends al- 
most due north to Springfield, the capital of the 
State. Also from Litchfield extends the St. Louis 
Division. Thus it will be seen that this road 
has many important- and growing cities on its 
line. On the completion of its line to St. Louis 
running arrangements were made by which the 
Santa Fe uses its track, thus affording another 
trunk line between Chicago and St. Louis. Its 
managers arc wide-awake, active and energetic 
men, and are bringing the road to the front. 



--^^ 



5B 



Toledo, St. Louis & Kansas City Railroad, 

^^ENERALLY known as the "Clover Leaf." 
, — , This road was first constructed as a narrow- 
iA! gauge road, but owing to its inabiiitj- in 
that condition to successfully compete with other 
lines, it went into the hands of a receiver, the same 
being Gen. John McNulta, whose splendid ability 
as a railroad manager soon placed the road on 
its feet, and gradually' increased its earnings, 
and soon thereafter he had it on a paying basis. 
It was during the incumbency of the receiver that 
the plan of broadening the gauge was inaugu- 
rated and subsequently successfully carried out. 
It now forms an important line for Eastern and 
Western traffic, with its eastern termini at Toledo, 
where the general offices are located, and the 
western terminus at St. Louis. Its patronage is 
constantly increasing. This line has opened up a 
good district of country in both Montgomery and 
Bond Counties. The principal towns along its 
line in these counties are Fillmore, Coffeen and 
Sorento. 






tHs^^ 



Abell.P.C SOT' 

Adams, Johu 23 

Adams, John Q S9' 

Adams Lemuel 454 

Alexander, J. T 26S 

Almond, Anthony 158 

Anderson, Mrs. Elizabeth '278 

Anderson, R. M 145 

Appleton, H. E 2-.'8. 

Arthm-, Chester A 9!) 



B 



Baker, J. M 2!l'2 

Baker, T.T 3.50 

Barlow, T. M 508 

Barnett, F. C 270 

Beardsley , C W 426 

Becker, Rev. Henry 191 

Bennett, Hon. R. F 289 

Best, H. A 489 

Bighain. Joseph 352 

Black, J. A., M. D 316 

Blackburn, Robert 309 

Blackwelder, J. F., M. D 205 

Blizzard, Prof. Calvin 483 

Boll, Pangratz 327 

Boulton, R. P 184 

Bourquin, Ahram 370 

BrakenholV, George 267 

BrakenholV, Henry 275 

Bray.H. W 300 

Breuchaud, Adolphe 312 

Brewer, W. H 1.55 

Briggs, VV. M 498 

Brokinier, August 279 

Brunken, (iarrelt 262 

Buchanan.. lames 75 

JSiirhanan. J. G 410 



^'^Mngton, C. (i., M. D .505 

'Blifehardt, .Tohn .354 



"t?' 



Caliban, Anthony 238 

Carroll, Rev. P. F 391 

Carsteus, Garrett 427 

Case, Loron 123 

Cass, J. J 213 

Cauby , Josephus 2S8 

Caulli, J.N 411 

Clan ton, John 476 

Clearwater, Jacob, M. D 4.53 

Cleveland , S. Grover 103 

Coireen, Hon. G. F 473 

Combs, Hon. J. A 235 

Cook, W. H., M. U 272 

Copeland , A. B 156 

Cornelius, R. E 185 

Co.x.J.H 296 

Cress, Jacob 465 



D 



Davis, J. P l:» 

Davis, J. Y 370 

Davis, Rancy 281 

Day, E. R 437 

Dee,C. E 511 

Dcnman, Smith 402 

Denny, E. W 480 

Denny, I. H 275 

Denny, J. B 211 

Denny, O.C 433 

Di.xnn, Robert 467 

Donnell, Capt. J. D 202 

Douuell, J. ill 221 

Donnell, VV, N ,....'^6 



Dressor, E. \V 177 

Dressor, Francis 161 

Durdy, A. C 277 



E 



Elliott, S. L 

Elmore, Hardin 

Essenpreis, Leo 



.u;i 

.510 

.179 



Ferguson, H. M 281 

File, J. F ...297 

Fillmore, Millard 67 

Fireman, John 457 

Fitzjarrell, BIrs. C. H 227 

Flint, G.W 475 

Fogleman, John 4;15 

Foster, George 122 

Freeland, P. L., 51. D 459 

Fuller, J. F 205 



Garfield, James A 95 

Garrison, C. W 223 

Gartner, William 151 

Gerhard, L.M 224 

Gordon, J. H., M. D 307 

Gracey, W. C 362 

Graff, Daniel 4 12 

Grant, Llysses S S7 

Green, B. F 419 

Greenleaf, E. L 180 

Greenwood, J. K v.,.128 

OroDor, Rev. W. H .":.:42S 

Grosenheider, Frank 430 

Gross, ]?. J 376 



Grubbs, Hon. S. M 214 

Grubc, Henry 190 

Gum, J. R 359 

Guthrie, \V. H 156 

Gwyn, A. F 339 



H 



Hjlgood. R. B 369 

Hall, J.S 3t2 

Haller, Jacob 488 

Hard, Leoiiidas 216 

Harold, Val ee 445 

Harris, U. B 448 

Harrison, Benjamin 107 

Harrtson, William Henry 5! 

Hartley, John 420 

Hartsock, L. M 306 

Hayes, A. H 206 

Hayes, Rutherford B 91 

Haynes, Baxter, M . D 288 

Hendricks, B. A 168 

Henry, Hon. A. G 255 

Hensen, H. H 363 

Herwig, John 252 

Hinkle, M. V 259 

Holmes, M. D 260 

Hood, Hon. H. H 505 

Hoog, Edward 343 

Howett, W. A 478 

Hubbard, L. B 247 

Hubbard, S. VV 361 

Hubbard, T. S 417 

Htilbert. E. M 321 

Hunter, Marshall 496 



Jackson, Andrew 43 

Jefferson, Thomas 27 

.leanings, C. VV 288 

.Testes, D. F 208 

Jett, J. VV 484 



INDEX. 



Jett.T.M »47 

Johnson, Andrew 83 

Johnson, C. W 183 

.Jones, E. C, M. D 303 

Jordan, A. C 317 

Jordan, C.H 145 

Jordan , L. W 30B 

Jordan, R.C 4:!il 



K 



Keiser, Harm 26!) 

Keiser, John 301 

Kessinger,S. W 139 

Kins;, Mrs. Lucy K 413 

Kirk, Thomas 470 

Knebel, Leopold *200 

Koch, William 2!)9 

Kortkamp, William 370 

Krager, John 364 



Lane, Hon. Edward 150 

Lane, Hon. J. B 341 

Law, Frederick 446 

Laws,T. (J l:« 

Laws, William 474 

Lee, Samuel 2\S 

Libbey.S. H 127 

Linck, Christian, M. D 221 

Lincoln , Abraham 70 

Lindbeck, A. VV 169 

Lindly, Hon. C.J 126 

Lingle, N.H. M 298 

Lipe, Wiley 28.') 

Litchfield Public Library 455 

Lohmann, Frederick 400 

Lyman, George 262 

Lynch, J. A 249 



M 



Mackay, Robert 164 

Maddux, J. T 291 

Madison, James 31 

Marshall, .Tames 172 

Matney, W. D., M. V 389 

McAdams, Jesse 308 

McCaslin, W. G 401 

Mc.Conathy , Jacob 276 

McCracken, James 39.5 

McCulIey , Joseph 25S 

McDavid, J. B 142^ 

McDavid, J. S 874 

McEwcii, A. F 4158 

McKinuey, Joseph 326 

McLean, J. C J3G 



McLean, S. H., M. D 215 

McNichoIs, W. H 397 

McWilliams, Maj. Robert .... 3S0 

Miller, Austin 213 

Miller, G. W 480 

Miliior, Hon. F. R 4f5 

Mindrup, George 342 

Monroe, James 35 

Moos, Peter 269 

Morey, Hiram 436 

Morey , T. P 2,i7 

Mueller, G. H 311 

Munday, C. B., Jr 149 

Murphy, D. P 384 



N 



Newport, John. . . 
Northcott, W. A. 



..3C5 
.146 



o 



Ogan, Evan 266 

Ohhnan, Capt. Michael 319 

Owens, W.J 196 



Paisley, H. C 403 

Panuwitt, F. J 190 

Paul, Jacob 231 

Peach, William 171 

Pennington , Prof. Lott 381 

Phelps, Hon. S. A 167 

Phillips, Hon. J. J 501 

Phillipsen. Anton 423 

Pierce, Franklin 71 

Poggenpohl. Herman 121 

Polk, James K .lO 

Potter, W.N 129 

Preston, C. A 491 

Price, John 162 

Prickett, J. N •. .295 

Probst, Michael 169 



R 



Ramsey, Hon. C. 

Ramsey, G. J 

Handle, H. N 

Randolph, A. S. . . 

Reese, G. A 

Reum, C. H 



.385 
.4a5 
,.1.52 
..3:!4 

.36.S 
.467 



Rhodes, A. F 501 

Bice,S. R 186 

Ripley, R. W 207 

Roberts, R. S. I) 124 

Robin.son, J. VV 280 

Rogers, C. A 217 

Rogers, Theodore , Jr 320 

Rose, J. VV 353 

Rosebrough, W. H 407 

Ross, J. T 405 

Royer, J. D 429 



Saathoff, Henry 239 

Sammons. Capt. E. T 360 

Sanders, Capt. G. M 315 

Sawyer, A. A. K 466 

Scharf , William 245 

Schhickebier, C 41i8 

Schlup, John 245 

Schwartzly, John 201 

Sedentop, Louis.. . . 138 

Seeleldt, E. J 424 

Settlemire, G. L 351 

Seymour. C. VV 418 

Seymour, J. R 430 

Shepherd, Hiram 173 

Sherburne, A. J 193 

Short, H.S.,.M.D 229 

Shaping, W. A 300 

Sides, William 322 

Sieek, William 354 

Siemens, Christian 463 

SihIer.G. A.,M. D 318 

Simon, John 290 

Singer, Nicholas 408 

Smith, W. C. H 507 

Snell, Wesley 192 

Southworth, Hon. Eliziir 468 

Sp-annagel, G. R 456 

Spradling, J. .H 260 

Sprinkle, J. M 3.11 

Stahl, Mrs. M. J 477 

Stansifer, J.T 140 

Stewart, A. M 413 

Strehle, J. C 487 

Stulle, Peter 227 

Sutton, J. J 328 

Swan, G. P 479 



Tannehill, J. O 

Tathani.G. M 

Taylor, Zachary. . 

Terry, W. H 

Thomas, L. H 

Tlioiupson, J. P. . . . 

Todl.J.H 

Towell.I.T 

Travels, G. B 

Traylor, Prof. J. L. 



.212 
.445 
. 63 
.121 
.119 
.282 
.170 
.178 
,.149 
.130 



Traylor, M. B 163 

Truitt, C. R 385 

Truitt, Hon. J. M 333 

Truitt, Mayfleld 344 

Tully, Francis 414 

Tuohy, M. E 174 

Turner, J. B 494 

Tyler, John .55 



u 



Upstone, G. S. 
Utiger, A. J. . . 



.332 
.392 



Van Buren, Martin 47 

Van Deusen, Delos 373 

Vest,T.L 382 

Voleiitine, W. B 447 

Voorhees.E.R 507 



w 



Wagner, Louis 160 

Wait,F.F ,351 

Wait.H. W 486 

Walhs, J. D 398 

Walter, Col. Paul 298 

Washington, George 19 

Weaver, A. F 357 

Weaver. G. A 189 

Weber, J. M 364 

Weber, VV. F 239 

Webster, William 337 

Weitekamp, John 222 

Welch, O.C 386 

Welch, S. H 424 

Wellar, Conrad 440 

White, E.H 3.3S 

White, J. C 348 

White, J. W 404 

VVhitehouse, Charles 347 

Whitchouse, H. G 230 

Whitlock, J. VV 137 

Whitlow, W. W 250 

Whitworth, J. F 3-25 

Wiegrelfe. William 406 

Wilcox, E. N 251 

Wild, J. W 323 

Wilkins, D. R., M. D 157 

VVillcford , Robert 199 

VVilleford. Willis 450 

Williams, T. VV 495 

Wilson. William 506 

Witt, L. H 271 

Woltmauu, Jobu 318 



INDEX. 



Wood.L. F 438 

Wooil, Capt. P. C -iSS 

Woodman . D. P Ill 

Wooster, \V. L Ml 

Wright, J. C 4-18 

Wyckoll , J. S 497 



Yackle, Frank 243 



Younpr, James SOO 

YounpT, J. P lai 

YoiiiiK, J. W 310 

Younfj, W. A 396 

Youn^', Hon. William 194 

Young, Rev. \V. J 434 



Zepp, Hon. D. H 


2;jf; 

4(;0 


Zink, Hon. (J. L 


188 







-H-f#^^=#+^- 



Adams, John 22 

Adams, John Q 38 

Arthur, Cliester A 98 

Brewer, W. H 151 

Buchanan, .Tames 74 

Caulk, J. N 410 

Clearwater, J 452 

Cleveland, S. Grover 102 

Colleen, Hon. (J. F 472 

Denny, Imhert H 274 

Denny, J. B 210 

Denny. O. C 432 

Dressor, E. VV 17C 



Fillmore, Millard G6 

Garfield, J. A »4 

Gordon, J. H.,M. D 3^6 

Grant, U. S 86 

Harrison, Benjannn lott 

Harrison. W. U .io 

Haye.s, R. B 90 

Jaekson, Andrew 42 

Jetrerson, Thomas 26 

Johnson, Andrew 82 

Jordan, C. H 144 

Jordan, Mrs. Clara 144 

Kortkainp, William 37S 



Linok.C, M. D 220 

Lincoln, Abraham 78 

Lipe, Wile.y 281 

Madison. James ;',0 

Matney, W. L)., M. D S.'^s 

Monroe, James 31 

Newport, John 301 

Phelps, S. A 166 

PhilliiJsen, Anton 422 

Pierce, Franklin 70 

Polk, J. K ,-i8 

Prickett, J. N 294 

Sanders, Capt. G. M 3U 



Scharf, A. H 243 

Scharf, William 242 

Siu-inkle, J.M 330 

I'aylor, Zachary 62 

Thomas, A. B 117 

Thomas, L. H 116 

Tyler, John j4 

Van Buren, Martin 46 

Washington, George 18 

Weaver, G. A 188 

Whitehouse, Charles .346 

Whitworth , J. F 324 

Willefurd, Robert 198 




Almond, .\nthony l.'jO 

Bounniin, A 371 

Hrunken, Garrelt 2»"3 

liuchanan. J. G 441 

Burkhardt, John 355 



Davis, Mrs. H. M 371 

Denny, E. W 481 

Donnell, Mrs. A. K 203 

Gerhard, I-. M 225 

Herwi^, John 253 



McCaslin, W. G 399 

Randolph, Abel 335 

Sieck, William :J55 

Stutle, Peter 225 

Thomas, L. H 132 



Tully, Fr.ancis 415 

Wagner, Louis 461 

Waflis, J. D , . . 399 

Webster, William ■. . ..335 

Wellar, Conrad „ . . .441 

Zimmerman, W. J 461 



'-.-*S?J«^ 









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